Determination
by Sdebeli
Summary: Faced with the reality of shinobi life after the battle at the bridge in Wave, Naruto turns a new leaf and begins training seriously. Serious Naruto/ NOT GODLIKE, pairing Naruto x Anko
1. A New Path

_The story takes place from after the mission in Wave. This was an idea I had in my head for a while, mostly inspired by other fanfics I read here along with a few (hopefully) original thoughts. Since I temporarily gave up on my other Naruto fic because I feel I messed it up too badly (I'll rewrite the second chapter and start from there). Also, I'm rewriting the timeline a bit. It makes absolutely no sense that after about three months of active service you can become chunnin. I'm moving the time to three months from the end of the wave mission._

"Talking" normal talk

_'Thinking' _normal people thinking

"**Blah!" **bijou/summon talk or yelling(or Gai and Lee)

_**'Blah!' **_bijou/summon thinking

Disclaimer: I do **NOT** own Naruto. Or any of the stuff depicted here for that matter... just my own ideas used here, should you want to use them yourselves feel free to contact me :P

And of course if someone notices their idea here placed without their approval _immediately contact me_. While I don't mind taking inspiration from others, I do not like stealing other people's ideas, even if I'm not aware of it.

Also, some of the work on seals and styles has been inspired by works of other authors, especially from the story 'Naruto of the Array' by Burning Blood

* * *

_(Land of Waves, Zabuza's and Haku's grave site)_

A sad sigh was was heard, originating from the slumped figure of a young boy.. Naruto was usually an energetic, happy-go-lucky, blond idiot, that is at least what most of the people who knew him thought. He sadly watched over the two fresh graves he had dug, and reminded himself of the bodies buried beneath.

"_To protect someone precious...'_ the thought lingered in his mind. As much as Zabuza denied it, Haku had been precious to him, and Haku had gladly given up his life to protect Zabuza. The words, surprisingly, made quite a lot of sense, and he had decided to accept them as his own. But there was one more thing from that battle that hit home. He wasn't strong enough. Plain and simple, if it wasn't for the fact that Haku didn't want to kill him, he would have died.

Conclusion? The way he was doing things so far wasn't good enough, he needed to be better. Mopping around achieved nothing, he knew that much. He pulled a small amulet from his pocket... a gift given to him by Haku a few days ago, when they had met in the forest. Would he be strong enough to do what he did?. His face turned serious, and he took a long, hard look at the graves, considering his options and making a decision.

"No more..." he said in a voice that oozed determination as he drew a kunai and proceeded to cut his right palm, ignoring the sharp pain, his blood dripping on the grave "I will no longer be weak, and I will protect those who are precious to me, I swear to you Haku. Thank you"

"I will honor what you have taught me, Demon of the Mist"

Naruto silently stood for a minute, paying his respect to the pair that taught him perhaps the most important lesson so far. He walked behind the grave and pulled out the Kubikiri Houcho out of the ground. Much to his dismay, he finds the blade quite heavy, but Naruto still manages to hold it. Deciding that it would be impractical to simply haul it around, he pulls out a storage scroll from his backpack. He always carried one around, should it be needed, although so far, there was little use for it. Before sealing it in the scroll, he carefully examined the blade. The blade was actually longer than he was tall, with an elongated handle. The blade had a slight curve at the top along with a circular hole near the top and a semicircular near the guard. But what surprised him most, was the number of different seals he found on the surface of the blade. His cussed at his own lack of knowledge and swore to look up things when he got home. A small amount of blood and a few quick handseals later, and the sword was sealed. He quickly placed the scroll into his orange jacket and went back to the others.

Tomorrow morning, Team 7 left Wave

_(A week later, Hokage's office)_

After team 7 finished their report, omitting some details Naruto and Kakashi stayed behind to give a full report

"So, now that the others are gone, what happened at the bridge?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked curiously. Kakashi shrugged, and Naruto seemed nervous. It was, however Naruto, who explained

"I used Kyuubi's chakra." he said shortly, startling Sarutobi. Quick worries about the fox being released if the seal failed flashed through the old man's eyes, but Naruto only chuckled.

"Don't worry Jiji, the seal is still there, and the fox isn't coming out. Of all the weird things in the world, he offered to help me. In fact he gave his _word_ to do so."

At these words, both of the men looked confused. Sighing, he started to explain.

_(Flashback, Naruto's Mindscape, during the battle at the bridge)_

Naruto found himself in a very familiar sewer. He was in the middle of a battle for Kami's sake! He didn't have time to lounge about speaking to giant demon foxes. Still, he knew that until he finished here, he couldn't go back

"What do you want no fox?" he asked in a tired voice. The great demon fox looked at him through the bars of his cage. Much to his surprise, there was not the usual malevolence or rage, just an equally tired

look aimed in his direction

"**Relax child, I am too tired to fight you now"** he started in a serious voice

"I'm in a bit of a hurry Kyuubi. I really don't have the time to sit around"

The great fox laughed for a moment at the fact that the _child_ in front of him wasn't in the least intimidated by the greatest and most powerful demon in existence. The thought was entertaining

"**I know. And I like ya kid. I'm willing to offer you a part of my power, if you're willing**"

Naruto stood silent for a moment. He might not have been a genius, but he knew foxes were known to be...cunning, for the lack of a better term

"What do you want in return?"

"**Clever boy."** the fox near purred "**I ask that you let me access your senses and that you talk to me. I might even help you with your training**"

"Deal" Naruto said shortly

"**You trust a demon too much boy, but you're a good judge of character. I give you my word that I will do all in my power to help you."**

_(Flashback end)_

"After that, Kyuubi leaked a decent amount of chakra through the seal and helped me out. I managed to defeat Haku, but he gave up his life to intercept Kakashi-sensei's Chidori."

Sarutobi rubbed his temples at Naruto's story. It made sense, and all demons were bound by their word., so he'd let the mater rest for the time being.

"Okay, dismissed. If anything else happens, inform me at once, alright?"

Both nodded, and Kakashi went to leave, but Naruto stayed.

"What else can I do for you Naruto?" he asked in a somewhat tired voice. After all, he had spent most of the day fighting the greatest enemy of any kage : paperwork..

"Ahh..." Naruto started, mildly uncertain"I was wondering if you could help me with something old man"

Sarutobi raised a curious eyebrow at his question, silently motioning the boy to continue. He was one of the few people in front of whom the boy didn't act like an idiot, and he knew full well that he felt uncomfortable about asking for help.

"I'm looking for someone to teach me how to use a sword" he stated

"That shouldn't be much of a problem, so why are you asking me?" the older man asked, with a small smile. Grinning, the boy pulled out his scroll and unsealed the blade.

"Cause I doubt most people would know how to wield this one"

For a moment, the third Hokage's eyes widened as he recognized the blade in front of him. He quickly calmed down, and after a short thought on the subject, sadly shook his head.

"I am sorry Naruto-kun, but there are no sword-masters in Konoha who use zanbatou, although I might have a scroll or two on a style using them." he quickly explained to a widely grinning Naruto.

"Also, you wouldn't have something on seals? I finished that basic book you gave me before we left"

"You finished the basics on seals in a week?" Hiruzen asked curiously. The boy was always full of surprises.

"Yeah, it was easy, besides, the sword has some strange seals on it, and I can't recognize even one of them"

Here, the old man mentally chuckled at his plan. He had been hoping that the boy would grow interested in seals, as they were something that ran in his family. He had prepared a special book for him on sealing for as soon as he completed the basics. Slowly getting up from his chair, he walked over to a nearby bookshelf and took out a small black book, gently flipping a few pages before handing it over to Naruto

"I think you will find this book to be.. inspirational to say the least" he said with a wide smile.

Naruto took the book. It was a simple black leather tome, with the words "Advanced Seal Theory" imprinted. He flipped the first few pages, and was promptly surprised. It was quite an ordinary book on sealing, until you looked at the various notes scribbled along the sides. Every single page had multiple notes, chart and graphs on existing seals had explanations on their functionality as well as ideas to their use. What had him puzzled were the initials written on the first page,'MN'. Whoever it was, sure knew a lot about seals. He would have to read it later. Right now, he wanted to give his adoptive grandfather a thank-you gift. It was the least he could do

"Oh, and Jiji, I have a gift for ya" he said, the fox-like grin prominent as ever"I know how to solve your paperwork problem"

At those words, Sarutobi dropped his pipe and went wide-eyed

"Two words: Shadow clones" he said and left the office with his scrolls and book, hearing a loud thump as Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his head into his desk, cursing his own stupidity. Naruto laughed and went home. It was time to train.

_(Three weeks later , 7:00 outskirts of Konoha,)_

After the last mission, Team 7 was given a week off to recover and relax. Naruto decided to use his time to train outside the village. After informing Sarutobi, and placing a tracking seal on himself that only the old man could follow, he packed the necessities and went to train. But, training wasn't the only reason Naruto wanted to be out of the village. Today was October 9th and tomorrow was the Kyuubi festival, a celebration of Minato Namikaze's victory and subsequent martyr to defeat said fox. That day meant something far different for Naruto. For the past five years, whenever this date came by, Naruto would leave the village to avoid the mob that would gather and try and kill him... again. He smirked as he passed the gates, he was free for now, and even better, thanks to the book the old man gave him, he managed to place multiple protective seals that only reacted to his chakra, so no one else could enter the apartment. That would hopefully keep the interior safe from those that would brake in.

He left the gates peacefully after he showed his documents to Kotetsu and Izumo, the ever-present chunin pair, usually stuck doing guard duty. Decent people they are, they never gave him trouble, and he appreciated it.

As he walked towards his preferred training ground, a small clearing at two hours running from Konoha, he thought of the past three weeks. They pulled another C-rank mission and a few D-ranks as well, providing him with enough money to buy a good supply of materials for seal-making and sword maintenance. He hid his new found training very carefully, although he told his sensei everything about it and asked him to keep silent. Kakashi had thankfully agreed once he heard that the Hokage was in on it and merely added one of his usual eye smiles. Sakura was clueless about his new skills, but Sasuke, he was certain that he managed to notice that he was acting a bit differently. Still, he needed more training, I he was to master this rather interesting style he planned out with Kyuubi's help

After an hours walk, he left from the road, and walked towards the small clearing where he camped every year. He found that he very much enjoyed the tranquility of the forest, for one there were no screaming people. He wondered what was it that he saw in Sakura, the woman was a pink banshee. He also considered that that might be the actual reason that Sasuke act like the way he does to keep his _fangirls_ (shudder) at bay. He'd have to talk with him about it... not that he'd likely say anything, but still.

The familiar clearing came into sight., and Naruto cleared his mind of all thought. It was time to begin his training once more. He put down his backpack, and started unpacking. Carefully the few pieces of equipment he would need he prepared to start his week-long training regiment. A week's supply of food pills, along with a small box containing ten chakra soldier pills. These, while expensive, were a failsafe for the unpleasant possibility of attack, or healing. He made mistakes with his jutsu at times, so he learned to be careful..

"Okay, time to start" he got up "Let's see if I got it done by now, **Shadow clone jutsu!**" he cried, for the first time managing a sealless jutsu. Each and ever one of his hundred clones grinned.

"Listen up, I want fifty of you doing tree climbing while spinning leaves on all of their fingers, thirty doing water walking while practicing the same, as for the rest, grab one of the books or scrolls and start reading"

While the clones distanced themselves from the clearing to practice, Naruto sat down in his meditative position. It was time to once more start sharpening his senses. Tying his hitai-ate over his eyes he started focusing. First on the strongest sensation, the sound of the nearby river as it coursed it's way through the rocks and ground. He counted all the rocks he could hear, slowly but surely separating each sound from the other. Next, came the sound of the leaves, he tried to separate the number of different species of trees nearby. Kyuubi's training was strange to say the least, but he had already seen the effects. Zabuza's silent killing technique was brutally efficient, but the style he was building would be even better. Focusing a small amount of his chakra to his ears, he felt his sense of hearing expand even further. Sharpened by training, and enhanced by chakra, he carefully let his mind process more information. The first time he tried this he nearly lost consciousness from the input. It was a strange feeling, to say the least. He could actually separate sounds of individual leaves rustling in the wind. He could actually hear the wind howling around the trees, the sound was weak, but it was there. Leaving his sense of hearing in the background, he focused on each and every one of his senses except for sight. Unlike the other senses, sight took up much more of his concentration, and he wouldn't be ready for it in a long time. After this exercise was completed, he got up and summoned another clone, ordering him to grab a bunch of leaves, while he unsealed his sword from a seal on his arm. It's careful placement made sure he could retrieve the sword directly into his waiting hand with very little movement and a small amount of chakra and blood.

Now came the hard part. Only two of his normal senses were needed, sight and scent. He let all other sensation leave his mind, as he slowly began reaching the outside world with his chakra. Within a limited (for now) range of five feet, he formed an invisible sphere that supplemented his normal chakra sensing abilities. That combined with battle instincts improved by training with clones that were out for your blood made sure that within those five feet around him he knew _everything_ exactly for what it was. No genjutsu or deception worked. He even managed to see through chakra-filled constructs such as the **hidden mist jutsu**. **Radiance** was a style of combat he found to enjoy very much. It wasn't just kenjutsu, it was also brutally efficient as a supplement for taijutsu and infiltration. Over his several weeks of training, he had trained this sixth sense to the point that he had to consciously suppress it to stop using it, which he found out he'd have to since the 'sense', when properly applied could easily see through clothes..

"Start with one leaf" he whispered to the clone who stood outside his range, while keeping on hand on the sword now sheathed diagonally across his back. After a lot of training and a bit of chakra he was finally able to draw the sword singlehandedly, but it was still quite impossible to wield it so in combat. Focused perfectly he heard the leaf begin to fall and discerned it's location before it entered his range. As soon as the leaf touched the sphere, he drew the sword, while adding a second hand to the hilt and cutting the leaf in half.

"Two leaves" he said in an emotionless voice that betrayed his concentration.

_(Several kilometers east, sundown)_

_'This was not a good day',_ though one Anko Mitarashi as she limped through the forest. Incorrect information is deadly in her line of work, and her entire mission was almost a failure because of it. She gripped her jounin vest as she tried to retain a grip on her rapidly failing mind. Anko paid little attention to her near-shredded clothes or wounds, she was still a long way from Konoha, and unless she reached there she was dead. She was sent alone on an assassination mission, but that had been a trap, and she could bet her ass that someone from the damnable civilian council once more tried to get rid of her. Silently cursing her fate she continued limping.

_'Is this how it's gonna end? Fuck! I don't want to die yet' _she cursed, doing anything she could to keep herself awake, but it wasn't helping. The last thing she saw as she fell was a barely visible figure rushing towards her as her world went black

_'Damn...'_

For a while all she knew was darkness

_'Is this death?'_ she idly wondered a some semblance of consciousness returned to her. She didn't feel any pain or tiredness, only a soft warmth. But the feeling was soon lost to a wave of pain. She was certainly alive. She groaned as she opened her eyes. She tried getting up, but failed miserably as she was too weak. Nearby, she spotted a boy, about five years younger than her. She noted the spiky blond hair, kept up by his hitai-ate with a leaf symbol and pronounced whisker marks on his cheeks. _'Where did I see those before?'_ His clothes were simple, black cargo pants with a lot of pockets over equally black steel-toed boot, and a red shirt. She quickly realized that she was covered with a long white black trenchcoat, which most likely belonged to him. The boy was fast asleep. What drew her attention however were a number of tattoos on his arms, most likely covered by the trenchcoat's sleeves normally. After looking at him, she took a look at her surroundings. She was in a tent, her belongings carefully sorted and placed within reach, at least what could be salvaged.

"You're awake" she heard the boy say without opening his eyes, she opened her mouth to say something but was instantly interrupted "Don't try to speak yet and don't move. Your body is too tired to work normally. Go back to sleep, you're safe here, we'll talk tomorrow"

While mildly annoyed by the boy's comment, she knew he was right, and went back to sleep

_'What do you make of that seal on her shoulder Kyu?' _Naruto asked curiously as he looked at his copy of said seal, referencing the array to everything he could think of.

"**Cursed seal, Life category**" Kyuubi answered quickly

'_Damn, I'm not good with those yet, but I've identified a few of the components. A part of it is similar to mine. One is a chakra conversion seal, but it has some rather... unique components. Another seems similar to those Torture seals I read about in the book. Do you think I should ask her about it? I doubt it's a pleasant subject for her though_'

"**Try, but don't pressure her too much.**"

Naruto stopped this conversation when he felt the woman before him moved. Although he didn't know her by name, she was a Konoha jounin, that much was certain from her uniform and symbol. From her equipment he could assume that she wasn't ANBU, and that she was very likely on an assassination mission. Having several vials of various poisons, along with precision weapons such as senbon left little room for speculation. Unlike many of his generation, after the events on that bridge, Naruto wasn't in the least naive when it came to concepts such as 'good' and 'evil'. He knew all to well that in the shinobi world everything was just a shade of gray. Therefore it would be foolish to judge another because of it. He was grateful that Kyuubi had pressured him into analyzing things whenever he had the chance. He now understood that it could grant him an edge over his enemies even outside of combat. He picked up a bowl of stew he was preparing and walked over to her, as she was just waking up

"Food?" he asked politely offering her the metal bowl and spoon.

"Thanks" she took the food and ate gladly, while Naruto joined her. They ate in silence, both parties pending their time studying the other. Naruto, of course had to control himself and not devour food. Instead he ate rather normally, his normal manners (or lack thereof) currently absent. For some reason, Naruto felt a need to behave.

"So..." Naruto tried to start as they both finished their meal. She seemed nervous.

"I, uh.. thanks for saving my hide" she said, with her head down. Anko Mitarashi hated to be weak and to need rescue, but she was saved regardless, The least she could do was to try and be nice

"No need to thank me" he said with a small smile "after all, we're both Leaf ninja, right?" he added, sheepishly grinning while he put both his hands behind his head. At that time he didn't know why, but she looked at him strangely.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki" he said as he offered her a hand

"Anko Mitarashi" she answered, accepting his handshake. This small gesture seemed to brake the tension between them. It seemed that at this moment, rank and position didn't mean anything as the pair sat with food and tea and chatted for several hours. A casual observer would notice a large number of clones training in the background Naruto found that he enjoyed talking to Anko. She was somewhat... rough around the edges, and could be downright scary if she wanted to, but he was sure that she was a good person. Now, there was just one thing more he wanted to ask her about. He knew it wasn't right, but his damnable curiosity for seals was getting to him

"Ne Anko-san, I was wondering about something" he said, his face turning serious. What the hell, he'd ask, and if it was as bad as he thought, he'd tell her about his own seal.

"Oh?" she said in a teasing tone, but noticing his face, realized something "So you've seen it"

"Hai.. I don't want to pressure you, but I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about that cursed seal."

She looked at him, a hard expression on her face as she studied his intentions. She wasn't certain what to expect but what she found surprised her. It was innocent curiosity, the kind little children have when they start asking parents questions about something new they saw and didn't understand. She sighed and shook her head, wondering why she was even considering doing this.

"Shoot" she said shortly. But much to her surprise, Naruto took out a scroll and a pen, preparing to write down what she said.

"First, who made the seal?" he asked, immediately cursing himself when he saw her wince

"Orochimaru" she answered venomously.

"What does it do exactly? I felt corrupted chakra, and several other arrays but I can't identify most of them."

"It.. allows a person to forcibly draw chakra, and then corrupts it, making it stronger but damaging the body and mind in the process. It also allows Orochimaru to burn that chakra and directly damage the bearer." she explained, and Naruto scribbled furiously. He decided that he certainly _didn't _like Orochimaru.

"Well, I can tell you two things. Orochimaru is a genius and I hate his guts." he deadpanned, while Anko watched him, somewhat amused but mostly curious about him. She really didn't want to talk about it, but the way he followed her voice and wrote, she knew he was really interested in it. She didn't know why, but she couldn't see him place such a mark on someone.

"So? What did you figure out about the seal gaki?" she asked him, her curiosity still evident

"Okaaay, here goes, you're in for a small lecture. The seal is in reality a massive array consisting of several smaller arrays which each accomplish a function. First, there is a chakra converter coupled with an amplifier and a soul container. If I had to guess, it contains a small piece of snake-shit's soul which is used to corrupt the chakra and keep the bearer in check. Second, there is that thing with the punishment, it's a somewhat complex torture seal, I haven't yet mastered those."

"We use those in interrogations" Anko added, trying to get into the lecture. She felt like the roles were reversed, that she was the little kid and not him, even though he was only about five years younger.

"Most likely one like that. The third array affects your mind, it's probably the part that corrupts the mind. Now, there was a fourth array, but it is completely dormant. I have no idea as to what exactly it does, but I can tell it's powerful, there are a few transformation seals in the array, but I can't figure it out. And last, but not least, you have a demon mate mark on top of it all, which is probably what scares people"

She stared at the boy in front of her, wondering how the hell he knew that much _'Not even the Hokage figured out that much, and he simply listened to what I told him and with a short look figured most of it out!'_

"Why are you looking at me like I grew a second head? Even a half decent seal user should be able to identify all of these seals, you made the job easier by telling me what they do. Removing it however, is a different mater entirely."

Anko shrugged sadly "I know. No one knows how to remove it, they say it's impossible."

Naruto snorts at the comment "To remove? True. But it can be altered. ANY seal can be altered." he tried to explain. Anko looked at him somewhat suspiciously.

"Look, the chakra amplifier is stuck there, but the part that contains his soul is removable, as is the torture seal, along with that fourth seal, as long as you don't activate it. As for the mating mark, that's a bit harder"

For a moment, Naruto noticed that the woman before him had dropped her guard. For a moment he looked into her brown eyes and what he saw shocked him. Betrayal, pain, loneliness, sadness. It was like looking at a mirror. But the moment passed, and those eyes were gone. He smiled sadly

"Want to know a secret?" he asked, still smiling sadly. Anko, who had been silent for a while now, nodded. Naruto gave a real smile this time as he raised his red shirt "Watch"

He started focusing his chakra slightly on his torso, and to Anko's surprise, a large seal appeared over his belly. Anko watched in fascination, quickly remembering what it all meant

"You're the container for Kyuubi" she said quietly. Naruto nodded.

"So, do you hate me now?" he asked dejectedly. He was almost sure of what was to come, but what happened surprised him. She slapped his face.

"Idiot" she said softly "You saved my life. How the fuck can I hate you?"

For a second time stood still. Then he laughed, and she joined in. It was funny, but neither of them laughed because of it. There was something liberating about the fact that you weren't alone in the world. After Haku had died, Naruto didn't expect to meet someone like that again. It was not that he wished such a fate upon anyone, but it felt nice to share it with someone. After a few minutes of laughing, they both sat in a relaxed silence, each eying and studying the other. There was no more tension between them. It was nearly noon by the time they finished their conversation.

"Hey, I need to do some physical training. I'll take you back to the village later today, okay?" Naruto kindly asked. He wasn't assuming anything, but apparently, Anko had other ideas

"I'm not a damsel in distress Naruto, I can take care of myself" she answered him while pouting. While she was a bit angry, Naruto couldn't help but laugh, which annoyed her even more. She didn't like being 'handled with care'. His smile faded. It was somewhat worrying how similar they were. He tried his hardest to look stern and serious

"Not until you are in a condition to safely get home. I'll send a message to the old man that you are safely recovering here with me and get you home by tonight. Fair?" of course, the 'stern' look didn't really work, but the message was clear, and, while still pouting, she agreed.

While Naruto returned to physical exercises, he left a clone to see to her needs. Anko decided to spend the time relaxing. A soldier pill and a blood pill, along with food and rest were all she really needed to recover. She was glad, nonetheless that her wounds were cleaned and bandaged. Not a bad job, she thought. She had taken a look at the clones that were training nearby. Chakra control, jutsu, reading, all that while Naruto was training his body.

"Why does he push himself so hard?" she muttered under her breath. The clone reading next to her didn't hear her thankfully. She was painfully aware that her own training regiment had _nothing_ on this boy's. After a few seconds, the clone next to her closed his book and turned to her.

"You'll have to ask the boss that yourself." he said softly before poofing out of existence. '_Well, I did answer his questions_' she thought gingerly as she began cleaning her fingernails... with a kunai. She spent the rest of the day watching the boy train, eating and resting. She didn't know why, but just watching him was relaxing. He had a drive she saw in very few people. She was a good judge of character, she had to be ever since her sensei betrayed her just to survive. It was weird, the boy was much like her, but he didn't give in to hate and anger. Her? She became a sadistic bitch to keep people away. She had only a few friends, and she doubted he was in a much better situation, but there was one thing she was sure of. The boy in front of her was much stronger than her. Sighing in resignation, she made her decision. She drew out a small scroll to write down her report. Quickly finishing her action, she bit her thumb to draw blood for her next move, a summoning jutsu. A few quick handseals later, a three feet long snake appeared from the cloud of smoke. It's grayish-brown scales blended well with the earth and it's slitted golden eyes stared into Anko's own

"**Yessss mistresss?**" the small snake asked, it's forked tongue flicking. Anko rolled up the scroll and offered it to the snake, who coiled around it

"Sharas, I need you to deliver this scroll to the Hokage. Hand it to no one but him, understood? If he has a reply, bring it over."

"**Yesss**" and the snake vanished as it unsummoned itself. Well, that takes care of that. She could now calmly spend the rest of her day recovering and studying this blond enigma that was before her.

Naruto was currently busy trying to develop a new move with his oversized sword. He was painfully aware that simple swinging couldn't get the job done, but the collection of seals on the sword were amazing. It was truly a fascinating weapon, and if what he analyzed was correct, Zabuza had only scratched the surface of the weapon's power. The chakra reinforcement and sharpening seals kept the weapon in perfect shape without any need for maintenance, while allowing it to near-effortlessly slice through armor and flesh. Most of the seals dealt with the use of chakra on one level or the other, but the most interesting ones were one that allowed a chakra shell to be formed around the weapon, and another, but this one was strange to say the least. Naruto knew how to identify most basic seals and even quite a few complex ones, but he was nowhere near seal master material. Identification was all nice, but if you couldn't break apart a seal or build it from scratch, it was near-useless. The last array was a simple chakra channeling seal coupled with something he most certainly _didn't _know how to identify. He needed an expert on this.. The move he was planning to pull of focused on gathering a high amount of chakra to form a solid shell around the sword, and unleash it on impact, causing a localized explosion. He had thankfully figured out how to control the seal to release the chakra, so all that was left was to figure out how to do it without killing himself in the process.

Anko curiously watched as Naruto took of his shirt and proceeded to draw his sword from it's seal, much to her amazement. Everyone above genin level read bingo books, and it was easy to recognize one of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. And what's worse, before her was a kid of thirteen carrying it

"Hey gaki, where did you get that sword?" she asked curiously.

"From it's previous owner" Naruto deadpanned, which in turn cause Anko to sweatdrop . "Actually Anko, could you help me out a little bit?"

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue

"I need you to throw kunai and shuriken at me" he explained in a serious voice as he dragged his headband over his eyes. For a moment, Anko questioned his sanity, but she didn't have any _fun _for quite a while

"Sure" she said in a sickeningly sweet voice "Any rules?"

Naruto swallowed hard, wondering whether this was such a good idea after all.

"One at a time with three second intervals, from when I say now till I say stop" he quickly explained, turning towards her chakra signature with a ready blade. "Use my supplies if you're low on them."

Anko chuckled. Naruto on the other hand was now positively worried, and hoped that she wouldn't kill him. Still, he expected her to at least try or this entire training had no purpose.

"Now!" he yelled, and for a second nothing happened. But then, he quickly felt a kunai enter the field of Radiance around him,aimed at his head, a rapid move from his sword deflected it. Two seconds later, a shuriken followed behind it, this one aimed at his throat. This kept going for a few more minutes until Anko had exhausted his supplies.

Anko was curious as to how the boy managed to block every projectile she threw at him, since he was blindfolded. He didn't look like a Hyuuga, so Byakugan was out of the question. So far she had squat on his skill. They gathered the shuriken and kunai

"Two at the same time now, with a second break, okay?" he asked her. Anko winced at his determined voice. He could easily get killed like this, and he was tired from the last run. Even thought his eyes were still covered, he seemed to see perfectly. "Don't worry, I'm playing it seriously this time. And I'll be moving this time. Can you do it?"

"Sure, but it's your funeral gaki" she answered in a mildly worried tone. The kid was fun, it would be a shame if he died, but still he _did _ask for it. Oh well..

Naruto took a long breath to calm himself. Now was the time to test his growth so far.

"Now!"

Instantly, two kunai flew at him. With minimal movement, he positioned the sword to block the two projectiles, which were quickly followed by two speeding kunai. Anko wasn't playing around. He smirked, and moved slightly to his left, raising his sword to block the shuriken. He barely had enough time to do so when another pair of kunai followed them, one aiming for his head and another at his leg. He silently cursed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to block both, so he sidestepped the ne aimed at his leg and blocked the one going for his head. This went on for no more than a few minutes, but Naruto was exhausted by it. It was harder than he expected it to be, but he was also much better than he hoped. He raised his hitai-ate back to his forehead and gave Anko a genuine smile. Anko, on the other hand was watching him with a mixture of awe, wonder and surprise.

"Damn gaki, you're good" he almost reverently whispered.

"Thanks for helping me Anko-san. If there's anything you need..." he trailed off there.

"Tell me how you did that thing with the blocking"

Naruto smirked.

"If you promise not to tell anyone except for the old man." he replied quickly. Anko grinned and nodded

"Alright. Now listen carefully" he quietly said, and Anko nodded conspiratorially "I use my chakra to project a thin field around me. It works as a sixth sense when combined with my well-trained chakra tracing skills and enhanced hearing"

Anko's eyes widened from hearing it. It was remarkably simple, but freaking brilliant.

"Now, don't go around spreading that. It's only a part of the skill itself and I need an edge over my enemies, that thing _won't_ go down in my record. And it's incomplete anyway" he added the last part sadly.

"Incomplete?" she asked him, once more surprised

"Yeah, I can't use my eyes." he explained sadly "my mind is trained enough yet."

_'That makes sense_' she thought '_use six chakra enhanced senses and you have almost no blindspots_'

Her train of thought on Naruto's techniques was rudely interrupted.

"We should get going." he said quietly, drawing her attention

"Yeah" she answered, a slightly forlorn look in her eyes

Naruto quickly packed up his belongings and began escorting Anko back to Konoha. He hadn't planned to return yet, but still, he needed to ask Kakashi and Sarutobi something anyway

* * *

**AN: **Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the story. I'll be focusing on this story for the next couple of days, so there will likely be another, possibly shorter chapter comming out. Also, I'll be posting updates for my other story soon enough. Read and review folks, I can't make the story better if you don't tell me anything about it :P

PS. apart from the Radiance style of combat, muc of the other stuff is mostly inspired by other authors, so once more thanks for the inspirations :D


	2. First Blood

**Author's Rambling: **I have only one word for the response I got on this story :**_WOW_**. Over six hundred hits and visitors within 24 hours, a bunch of favorites and story alerts and a ton of reviews. _Niice_. So, I decided to get this up as fast as possible, since I'm motivated now :D

Anyway, I'm posting a few explanations for the styles and jutsu that will be used here. I intend to keep to the English names of all jutsu mostly as a form of convenience, as I can't translate my own into Japanese (yeah, I know, _troublesome_)

_**Answers to reviews:**_

Train1 – I try to update as fast as I can, but that only goes for as long as the wave of inspiration holds me

Challenger – I appreciate the suggestions for the clothes, I found a few interesting ones. Check your pictures for the description of one of the birthday gifts :P

Deathmvp – Thanks for the seal suggestion, but at this point I'm going for the complete stealth approach, in other words, hiding _all_ of his skills from his enemies, or appearing harmless, and as the authors of Devil May Cry would put it, _Stylish _:P

Kween Of Thorn - Thanks. I try :P

Dakar revolutionist to come – I don't plan on making Sasuke a simple character, as I'm somewhat disappointed by the Emo-king of the avengers as he is often portrayed, but we shall see :P

harryPeru – Short and simple – no harems, I don't write stuff like that

AutoNix – Unlike the previous comment, this one is more sensible. I might go for the idea. And as for the sadism, I"m not sure... well, except on Tora the cat, if she makes an appearance, there _will_ be sadism there :D

aNimeINvasion93 – Here's the update :P

Blue Beluga – Why, thank you very much. I found that that was probably the single point in Naruto's life which affected him the most, so I chose it.

Kusenhya-Kushiki – He will not become a godlike shinobi except perhaps at the very end of the story. I intend to focus Naruto to more efficient skills such as seals, poisons and tactics, rather than overpowering people through flashy ninjutsu, although I have little doubt that there will be quite a few of those. Can't fight Orochimaru with a butter knife, no?

Omi (aka Wandering Maverick) - To answer your question, that was more one of those 'Duh! Slap yourself in the face' moments. It's quite normal not to remember something at a point, besides, Naruto has just changed from his usual kill-me-orange clothing to something more professional. She simply didn't connect the dots at the time. Don't tell me it never happened to you? :D Anyho, Naruto also can't assume who knows and who doesn't, but it's more of an act of trust than anything else.

OutlawKnight – I'm not gonna reveal too much, but I have a few things in store for that sword :P

EnemyAce - Now, where would be the fun in that?

Anyho, on to the story!

* * *

_Chapter 2 – First Blood  
_

Along their journey back, Naruto had taken every precaution to hide his training equipment and skills. Anko curiously watched as the boy tied bandages over his arms to cover the seals. His hitai-ate was normally tied around his forehead, keeping his blond bangs from falling on his face, and there was nothing to point that the boy was carrying many scrolls or an oversized sword. For a moment she had wondered why take so many precautions to hide his training. Once more, she was getting a taste of what made Naruto Konoha's most unpredictable ninja, as the boy, more or less, read her mind

"A ninja's most powerful weapon is deception" he said softly as the gates of Konoha came into view. Anko instantly recognized the meaning behind his words: if his enemies don't know what he's capable of, they will at best underestimate him. She was beginning to appreciate the kid, quite contrary to what she had heard, he was quite... clever. They both entered the city with a short show of documentation, the guards unwilling to make a fuss.

"This is were we part ways, Anko-san, although I certainly wouldn't mind seeing you again" he said kindly, earning a quick nod from Anko

"Sure gaki... look me up, I'll usually be at the Dango place or at training ground 44. See ya " she waved at him while she bounced off across the rooftops. Naruto smiled and waved back as he did the same, heading towards his own apartment. It was time to check whether his new security seals have been doing their job properly. He cringed as he saw the Kyuubi festival in full swing. This was _not _a good time of the year for him. He quickly scanned the area for unfamiliar chakra signatures while suppressing his own chakra , it would do him little good to attract attention. Bounding off towards his own apartment building, he silently praised the man who created the building for making a roof access. He quickly moved to the doors of his home, his formerly small smile now developed into a full grin s he noticed that all of the seals were still in place. Channeling just a small amount of chakra into the seal-locks he slipped inside. He was shocked when he recognized another chakra signature inside.

_(20:30, Dango place, Konoha)_

Of all the places popular amongst the shinobi populace of Konoha there were two that help a place in their hearts. First was the nameless shinobi bar, carefully concealed within the city's depths, were one could only find seasoned veterans from the Third Great Shinobi War, along with veteran jounin and ANBU operatives. The second, however was far more interesting to the more common populace and was simply known as the Dango place. There were no fancy signs, as the whole institution was somewhat off the beaten track, commonly visited only by folks he explicitly went there. The point of interest there was the unofficial so-called Ninja Lounge, in reality a collection of booths to the back of the bar/fast-food stand, where one could usually find chunin and jounin ninja sitting and drinking together almost every night, and unlike the dark atmosphere of the previous place, here spirits were usually much higher. Unfortunately, the only person currently sitting here was one Yuhi Kurenai, the somewhat infamous Genjutsu mistress, or better known, Ice Queen of Konoha. Now one might go and wonder why this young woman was sitting here annoyed and drinking, but such a thing would be obvious to any who knew whom she currently cursed, while drowning her sorrows in sake. Thankfully, her problems were quickly forgotten as she was joined by her old friend

"Two portions of fruit dango!" Anko ordered her food, before turning to Kurenai with her usual smirk. She had just finished her report to the Hokage, who surprisingly (or not when she thought more about it), had asked her about Naruto's progress after she had finished her report.

"So, what are you up to Nai-chan? Still sulking over that bonehead Asuma?" she teased playfully. Her words never held any malice when directed at her friends, although any outsider would be hard-pressed to realize that. Kurenai sadly nodded. Her relationship with Asuma Sarutobi was _complicated_ at best. The man could be the sweetest guy in the world at times and a complete idiot at others. In a word, he lacked subtlety. Anko smiled as she put her arm around Kurenai's shoulder, trying to convince her that everything will be okay, and was glad to see that it worked.

"You didn't tell me Anko-chan, how did your mission go?" Kurenai asked with genuine curiosity, only to be mildly surprised at the number of emotions that flashed through Anko's usually guarded face

"Shit hit the fan, but the way back was fun" she shortly explained. Kurenai raised an eyebrow at her friend's comment, curious as to what she meant. Anko began explaining the events of the past few days.

_(Naruto's apartment, same time)_

"Hello, Naruto-kun"  
Naruto watched in amazement at the collection of people gathered in his apartment. He recognized everyone, either by scent or by face. The hokage, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei and even the pair of ANBU who, he remembered, saved his life from the mobs quite a few times Yugao and Tenzo, better known by their code names as 'Cat' and 'Tiger'. Naruto stood silently as everyone shouted 'Happy Birthday', and he could feel tears coming down his face. He couldn't, he _wouldn't_ stop them. He ran forward and hugged the old man, who returned the hug and knowingly patted his back. Everyone present smiled at the interaction between the two. It was his fourteenth birthday, and for once, it would be a good one. As he released the hug, Naruto remembered something useful. One of the first things he did was to place several hidden storage seals around the house. One such was to store a few objects he got from his missions. One was saved for such an occasion. A small amount of chakra unsealed four bottles of high-quality sake along with six saucers.  
"I've been keeping this for a special occasion" he said with a wide smile" Kumo's finest sake" he added, causing a wide cheer  
"Aren't you a bit too young to drink Naruto?" Iruka asked, somewhat worried for his 'little brother', as it were. Naruto scowled for a moment, then simply shrugged  
"Meh... old enough to kill, old enough to drink" he quickly explained causing a chuckle from everyone present as he passed the saucers and poured the finely chilled sake. The whole group gladly accepted, and as always in such occasions, people began to talk. This chatting lasted for the better part of an hour, as stories from old missions were retold, new ideas shared, and a liberal amount sake was drunk. Most were somewhat surprised to notice that Naruto, who should by all accounts be a light-weight didn't even get tipsy, but quickly wrote it of to 'damnable demon foxes', to which Naruto, and by proxy, Kyuubi, chuckled. While Naruto would have liked for all of them to stay a while longer, each and every one of them had duties to attend to, so after an hour, it was time to part ways... but not until Naruto received his presents!

Iruka, kind and practical as ever, had bought him a new calligraphy set for his seal works, with high-quality chakra ink. Kakashi's gift was a scroll containing a single jutsu of every element, along with a chakra paper to figure out his affinities. Yugao had bought him a set of chakra weights, for which he was very thankful, since he needed new weights badly. Tenzo, aware of his forays into herbalism and medicine had gathered seeds of several rarer medical plants along with a scroll on medical ninjutsu. And finally, Sarutobi had bought him a new coat. Naruto quickly unwrapped the clothing and put it on instead of his usual coat. The long red coat easily reached his ankles, decorated only by black flames along the bottom rim, with somewhat oversized, flowing sleeves which didn't inhibit his movements in the least. What he also noticed and that made him chuckle were several reinforcement and mending seals along the inner back, making sure that it would easily be maintained, along with storage seals on the insides of the sleeves. He liked it. He liked it very much. And to be honest, it looked good on him.  
After he had said goodby to the people he knew he could call friends, he took of his coat and carefully laid it on his bed. He quickly summoned two clones while he took the chakra paper, ordering the two to start reading the scrolls while he found out just what he was capable of. Carefully reading the instructions that went along with the paper, he channeled a good amount of chakra and watched as the paper split itself into four pieces. Each and every one of them was blank except at the corners. One was slightly soaked, the second mildly crumpled, the third had a crumbled corner while the last had it's corner burnt. Naruto watched curiously at the paper in his hand.  
"Now what the heck does this mean?" he asked himself, causing a shrug from his clones."Damn, I"ll have to ask the old man about this" he quietly muttered as he disposed of the papers. He picked up the small box of seeds that Tenzo had given him, and quickly opened it. Inside were four different species of medical herbs : Dragon's Tongue, a rare plant endemic to Konoha's forests, it's leaves are usually used as a potent antitoxin when chewed or made into a tea; Roseberry shrub, a strong source of vitamins and minerals, somewhat common, but very usable; the Coca plant, which usually grows into a tree, a powerful mental and physical stimulant, but rather hard to raise in this climate; and finally a single seed of the Fireflower, a rare herb which releases a highly flammable sap, while it's flowers' sent is used to combat mosquitoes and other such pests. A small scroll was packed along, explaining what condition each of the plants needed. Naruto's mind went into overdrive as he considered the near impossible growing conditions for each of the plants, and how to provide them. Of course, the answer once more came from the arts of sealing. A simple barrier seal could be used to maintain certain conditions within a limited area, such as one or more pots. His musings on botany and sealwork were rudely interrupted by a sudden influx of information, a signal that his clones had finished reading the two scrolls given to them. The medical scroll mostly contained exercises meant to draw out and form the green medical chakra used to heal wounds, and a few select jutsu that in conjunction with his massive chakra reserves would serve him well.  
The other scroll however had five jutsu on it: **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough** an offensive jutsu where the user blasts forth a strong wind blowing back all in it's path, **Water Release: Water Encampment Wall**, a defensive jutsu that creates a wall of water meant to block mostly fire jutsu and projectile attacks, **Lightning Release: Shocking Paralysis**, a support jutsu that temporarily paralyzes a touched opponent and **Fire Release: Phoenix Fire** an offensive jutsu used to fire multiple fire projectiles that are mostly used as a distraction. And finally **Earth Release : Underground Projection Fish **justu, an offensive/defensive jutsu that allows the user to sink into the earth and move underground. Naruto grinned widely at the possibilities and decided to do his best to learn and master all five jutsu, affinities be damned Rubbing his hands while thinking over the possibilities he approached his last gift, a lacquered cherry wood box that contained his new calligraphy set. With due reverence, he carefully opened the small box to find several bottles of high quality chakra ink along with multiple brushes of equal quality. He quickly realized that all of these gifts must have cost quite a bit, and biting his lip he promised that he'd make something for them in return. Drawing out a scroll from the desk on which he normally worked with his seals and herbs he sat down on his couch and began writing notes on what he would create.

_(21:00, Dango place, Konoha)_

".. and that's about it. The gaki escorted me back to town and we parted ways" Anko finished her retelling of the events of the past few days, carefully omitting any details on _what _exactly was Naruto training. She wanted to tell her friend, but Naruto had taken so many precautions to keep it a secret and he saved her life. It was the least she could do for him.

"He sounds like curious kid, that Naruto" Kurenai idly commented as she sipped a bit more sake. Anko simple nodded

"That he is." a voice behind them suddenly announced. Both ladies turned to notice the cyclopean features of one Hatake Kakashi.

"Oi, cyclops" Anko greeted in her normal teasing tone "What brings you here?"

"Drinks and dango" he deadpanned "and people gossiping on my students" he added with an eye-smile, causing both to chuckle as he sat down and ordered his food.

"How's your team Kurenai-san?" Kakashi asked curiously wile he devoured his dango (without dropping his mask of course).

"Not too bad I suppose" Kurenai quietly said "Kiba is way too arrogant and Hinata has confidence issues. Shino is the one that needs the least work." she quickly explained, like all jounin senseis saying the least possible about their student's skills. "What about you Kakashi?"

Kakashi somewhat nervously scratched the back of his head

"Well, I've nearly broken Sakura out of her fangirl personality, Sasuke is being his usually brooding self, but that's changing and Naruto.." he trailed off.

"What about Naruto?" both Anko and Kurenai asked, their curiosity evident.

"He's near impossible to read" he explained shortly. Kurenai gave him an irritated glance, but Anko simply nodded "Down to a tee as usual cyclops" she muttered

"Why thank you Anko-san" Kakashi chuckled. Suddenly Kakashi froze in place. For the moment Anko and Kurenai simply stared at him, but as they turned a familiar figure entered the bar. Tall, lean and dressed in green spandex, the imposing figure of Maito Gai, Konoha's Green Beast caused fear among his comrades for reasons not entirely connected to his taijutsu skills. In an instant, the three jounin vanished from the bar, leaving only a small amount of money to pay for their bill.

Gai stood silently, his brows furled in concentration

"I was certain I had seen my youthful rival here." he muttered as he started running the second part of his one thousand laps around the village.

_(A week later, 6:00 Hokage's office)_

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed idly as he watched his adoptive grandson read on his couch. During the past month, he had improved by leaps and bounds. Next to him was the young Uchiha. Sasuke had cheered up a bit recently, but his disposition certainly wasn't helped by the always fawning Sakura. Strangely enough, the girl had also shown some improvement recently. The only one missing was their sensei, Kakashi Hatake. Thankfully he still had five more minutes to show up. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all stared in shock at the timely appearance of their sensei.

"No way" Sasuke muttered

'_On time?_' Sakura wondered.

Naruto turned his gaze towards the old Hokage and smirked noticing the smirk on the old man's face

"You told him to come an hour earlier" he gleefully said, causing Kakashi to sweatdrop and the old hokage to start laughing. As soon as the situation calmed down, all four of them gathered in front of the desk

"Team 7, I have a C-Ranked mission for you." the old hokage began explaining "A number of bandits have recently attacked several seaside villages along the southern edge of the country. Intelligence places no ninja at the site, so there shouldn't be much problem, but be advised that there were kidnappings" Sarutobi paused for a moment, letting the information sink in "Your orders are to travel to Kazashi village directly south from here, help the defenses, intercept the next attack and after it, follow the retreating forces to their main camp... and eliminate them"

There was an air of finality to the old man's words as a deafening silence spread across the room. For the first time they were expected to _kill._ None of them liked the idea, but it was the harsh reality of their life. They accepted the mission, and under orders to pack for a month long mission, they were to gather at the south gate, 7:00 sharp.

Sakura was shocked to see that her sensei was not only on time, but actually early. Next to him, however, was someone that caught her attention. At first she wondered if it was the same person she knew, but even she had seen him change recently. If nothing his choice of clothes had improved. A rather good-looking red and black coat, over a simple light brown shirt and dark brown trousers, a kunai holder attached to his right leg, while a scroll holder was attached to his right, along with a quality leather bag attached to his belt on his right side. But that wasn't what shocked Sakura. No, what shocked her was the look on the boy's face. Grim, determined and completely focused. His normally pale skin had tanned over the past months, and the malnourished look was now gone. _'He's still not as good looking as Sasuke-kun' _she reminded herself

"Hey Naruto, Kakashi-sensei" she said, waving at the two. Kakashi lazily waved back and returned to reading his smut.

"Sakura" Naruto quietly greeted in an emotionless tone and returned his attention to writing his own notes. Sakura was positively shocked. There was Naruto, the hyperactive blond idiot, who had the biggest crush on her, greeting her without any emotion or interest. She was angry, annoyed and... sad? But she decided against saying anything. Something about that troublesome blond boy worried her. A few minutes later, Naruto's concentration was broken by a loud squeal of

"SASUKE-KUN!"

Cursing the gods of creation for giving the girl such strong lungs he quickly pocketed his notebook.

"Dobe" Sasuke sent his normal greeting

"Teme" Naruto replied. Kakashi on the other hand was entertained by the exchange. Unlike their usual conversations, this lacked any malice, and he could have sworn that there was even some warmth to their usual insults. After Naruto bared his past before Inari in Wave, Sasuke had started changing for the better, accepting that he wasn't the only one with a shitty life so far. He watched curiously as Naruto started digging through his bag. He drew out a small scroll and threw it to Sasuke

"Catch teme, that's the stuff I promised" he quickly explained with a mischievous smile, which Sasuke, to Sakura and Kakashi's shock, returned.

"What?" they both deadpanned at the shocked genin and jounin. Kakashi sheepishly scratched his head and gave the order to go.

As the four-men-cell made it's way towards Kazashi village to the far south, an uncomfortable silence pervaded between them. Naruto had set his mind to auto-pilot as his senses expanded around him, he focused on his notes regarding the cursed seal on Anko. He was still royally pissed at the infernal construction as he couldn't figure out how to break the torture seal without breaking the chakra amplifier and killing Anko in the process. As much as he hated to admit it, Orochimaru was a genius

"Freaking snake bastard" he muttered, while his three companions gave him strange looks, wondering what the hell he was thinking about.

The journey southward was uneventful, and the cold sea air was felt within hours as they passed the wooded lowlands that led to coast. Naruto watched and enjoyed the landscape that stretched before him. The sparse woods made sure that he didn't have to many landing options to his normal tree running, but he could still enjoy the vibrant colors of the land around him. The clear blue and white of the skies above him, the cold bluish tone of the mountain rocks in the distance, the green, red and yellow of the forest around him, and finally the deep blue of the distant ocean. His features relaxed at the sights that were before him, he rarely had the time to enjoy such pleasures. He hardly noticed that the others were chatting and giving him somewhat concerned looks. Well, his behavior was strange, he had to admit that much. He felt better than he did in years now that he had taken his life seriously, and it showed. Now that his mask was off, his features seemed more like a veteran ninja than a fresh genin.

His musings were interrupted by the magnificent sight of the open sea basked in the sun's late-day golden light. Naruto made a genuine smile as he observed the light dance on the sea's surface, and his companions, following where his eyes went, soon joined him

"It's so beautiful" Sakura whispered. Naruto simply shook his head. '_She only now realizes_' he idly thought. In the distance, he could see the village they were supposed to protect.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the village

"Hai" Kakashi quickly replied as the team ran along the coastline "Prepare henges, we shouldn't attract attention until we reach our client." Kakashi quickly added, quickly noting that Naruto wasn't using handseals to perform the Henge. The four quickly transformed into nondescript travelers as they slowed down to continue their journey on foot.

Kazashi village was actually a rather interesting place. While not overly large, it had several key features, which was probably why the bandits attacked. First, the village was walled off, surrounding a small cove that was used as a natural harbor and storm shelter. Second, it was the residence of a number of fisherman and pearl divers, which ensured a stable income to the populace and third, a number of trade routes with the nearby Tea country went straight through there. The team showed their forged travel documents to the gate guards, and easily passed without attracting any attention. Sasuke and Sakura were still wondering how was the blond enigma that was traveling with them able to stay completely silent.

Naruto was taking his time studying the town. The walls, while well designed, still had their weaknesses. The city had three gates, each facing north, east and west, while to the south was the open sea. The large number of merchants, a few taverns, an inn and a few shops made sure that there was a lot of traffic in and out of town. A quick check showed him that his sensei was doing the same thing as him. After taking a look at the general architecture, Naruto moved his sights to the people around him. He was surprised to notice that there weren't as many civilians in the streets as there were guards patrolling. The tension and fear were obvious.

'_Kyu? You awake?_' Naruto focused his thoughts to his tenant, probing to see if the ancient fox was sleeping

'_**Hmmm?'yawn' I'm awake**_'a quick response was heard.

_'What do you make of the situation here?' _ he quickly asked. While Naruto had some sense of pride, he certainly wasn't above asking someone with far more experience for their opinion. Besides, he already drew all the conclusions he could

"_**Hummm... nothing much over what you already figure out**_" Kyu commented "**But have you noticed that some of the houses are empty?**"

'_Empty? What the hell?_' Naruto internally argued. There were a few options going from there, one was that a part of the population had evacuated, and the other was that they were either dead or kidnapped.

"Sensei?" he asked in worried tone

"So you've noticed it to?" the silver-haired jounin replied. Naruto quickly nodded.

"Why do I get the feeling that we get all the C-turned-A missions?" Naruto mumbled in a voice laden with sarcasm. Kakashi and Sasuke chuckled, while Sakura was simply annoyed

"You're bad luck dobe" Sasuke smugly joked, at which Naruto only broke a grin. The other members of the ream watched with interest the new relations between the two team members, before Kakashi interrupted the playful banter

"We split up here. Sakura, go to the inn and get us two rooms, one by the other"

"Hai, sensei" Sakura quickly replied

"Naruto, henge and check the docks and gates for any suspicious characters, it's just recon, don't attack anyone. I get the feeling we won't be sleeping much tonight. And Sasuke, you go and talk to the commander of the guard, find out whatever you can from the man."

"Hai" both boys quickly replied

"We meet at the inn in three hours. Now go"

And with that the group scattered.

_(01:00, a room at the local inn)_

Kakashi, for once wasn't busy reading his favorite pass-time book, better known as Icha Icha Paradise. Right now, he was evaluating the skills his team had shown during the mission so far. He was pleasantly surprised at the lack of usual conflict between the three, and the level of efficiency at which they handled their assigned tasks. He was reasonably pissed off, but it could be worse. The mayor knew very little about the attackers except that they usually attacked and kidnapped people during the night. Thankfully the commander of the guard was more forthcoming as he provided useful information on the general numbers and state of equipment of the bandits. But what seriously worried him was the report given by Sakura and Naruto. Sakura had overheard conversations from the room next door about the attacks, and from what she heard there could be people inside working with the bandits and that that was why they could work so easily. Naruto located several shady characters in the docks and near the east gate, so he left henged shadow clones to guard the areas, along with two more, one at each gate. But the key detail was the fact that he had seen some of them enter the basements of several buildings. He wrote a quick report and sent it to the Hokage via one of his nindogs. He smiled watching his team asleep. Should something happen....

Naruto snapped awake, violently jerking himself from his bed and startling Kakashi in the process.

"They're here" was all he said as both of them rushed outside, quickly joined by Sakura and Sasuke.

"Where are they?" Kakashi quickly asked as all of them rushed along the rooftops

"North gate, there's about seventy of them, all thugs and bandits, but they managed to break through the gate." Naruto quickly explained

"Shit" Sasuke muttered

"Did you put the gloves on?" Naruto quickly asked "Now's not the time to mess around"

"Yeah they're on" Sasuke quickly replied

"Cut the chatter" Kakashi tossed each and every one of them a small ear-mounted communicator

"They are all set to a single frequency, report in every two minutes. Sakura, cut them off to the east, Sasuke, head in from the west, Naruto and I are going in directly from the south. Move out!"

_(With Sakura)_

Sakura was positively nervous at the turn of events, but the sheer adrenaline rush of the situation kept her going. She hurried over the low roofs until she spotted several figures sneaking through the shadows in an alley beneath her. She quickly called on all of her training, thinking up how to get rid of the two without dying herself.

Two bandits were sneaking along the alley, trying to avoid detection for as long as they could. The guards were mostly dead or disabled, so now was the time to plunder this town. They were momentarily surprised as they saw a pink-haired girl standing in the street, pointing at them. Unfortunately, they were startled long enough for a third shadow to sneak up on them and stab two kunai, one at the base of each of their skulls, instantly killing them.

Sakura silently cursed, and felt the bile rising up her throat at the thought that she just killed someone. But lessons from the academy came back quickly. She remembered perfectly what happened to kunoichi who were captured in the line of duty. She would not allow it to happen

"This is Sakura, two down and moving on, over"

_(With Sasuke)_

Unlike his pink haired teammate, Sasuke was ready for this. Having your entire family killed and then watching it all again for hours on end did wonders for his sensitivity to death : he didn't have any. He wickedly rubbed the new pair of gloves Naruto fixed up for him, a wide grin on his face. Once he put his old opinions aside, he found Naruto to be a good guy, and a good friend, the likes of which he was unsure if he deserved, Uchiha arrogance be damned. He noticed a small group of five men, one of them carrying a tied-up woman on his shoulder

_Slavers_. He spat as he felt his blood boil. There were a lot of things he didn't like, but slavery was one thing he decidedly despised. Time to test these nasty new gloves. He drew closer, his new, full-black suit allowing him to meld into the shadows far easier than his old clothes. Channeling a small bit of chakra into his glove, a single shuriken popped out, near-silently crackling as it gave away a soft bluish glow. _'Let's see how they like these' _He quickly popped a kunai from his right glove, similarly charged, and threw both. Sasuke prided himself on his accuracy, and always liked a challenge, but these men didn't even seem to expect an attack. He quickly moved to another position, noting while moving that two of the men were dead. _'Remember to conserve your chakra, unless you're fighting tougher opponents, keep to weapons rather than jutsu' _he perfectly remembered what Kakashi-sensei repeated several times. The remaining three men were now panicked, all of them drew their weapons, two of them had swords, and one had a large axe, but it seemed that except for one of them they weren't too good at using them. With a sickeningly sweet smile he popped another two kunai, this time avoiding to charge them, and after waiting for a few seconds to get a blindspot, he threw them.

_Thump. Thump._

Two corpses hit the ground. The last thug, carrying the tied up woman now fully panicked, and dropped her, trying to run for his life. Sasuke quickly jumped down, checking on the woman before he sent a final kunai, that hit the retreating bandit

"This is Sasuke, five down, moving on, over"

_(With Naruto and Kakashi)_

Forsaking all stealth to draw out as many bandits as possible, Naruto and Kakashi found themselves surrounded by at least thirty bandits, back to back, standing atop corpses, with a kunai in hand each, they were planning their next move.

"Kakashi-sensei, I have a plan, but I'll need you to trust me and stand perfectly still." Naruto said, panting while stabbing a ninja _'10'_

"What are you going to do?" Kakashi asked, parrying a blow, and sliding the edge of the kunai into another bandit's throat '_15_'

"Go blind on them" he quickly said, and Kakashi picked up what he meant, both stabbing another bandit dumb enough to get within reach '_11_'_16_''

"Do it, I'll get you some cover"

Naruto quickly threw his kunai into the face of one of his opponents, instantly killing him, all the while quickly flashing through a few quick handseals. '_12_'

"**Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu" **he whispered, just loud enough for Kakashi to hear it. The bandits panicked as suddenly a thick mist surrounded them, cutting off all vision. Kakashi made a grim face as he drew a second kunai and closed his eyes. The screams should start right about...

"Aaaaaargggggggghhhhhh!!!!" '_13 for him.. thank Kami that the adrenaline keeps him too high to think about the killing, let's just hope he also forgets the bet_'

Seemingly at random, almost every second, bloodcurdling screams and falls of corpses were heard throughout the mist, the work of an unseen killer as he moved invisibly in a macabre dance of blood and metal. After a full minute, the fog started to dissipate, revealing a fearsome sight. Like a horrifying god of war from tales of old, Naruto Uzumaki stood, leaning on the Kubikiri Houcho, an eerie bluish-white light glowing around it, atop a pile of corpses. His red coat was flying in the wind, undamaged by the action while he was panting. Kakashi watched in shock that the former dead-last of the academy had done _this,_ without as much as a scratch on him.

"Bastards...Naruto here, all down, area clear, over"

Naruto quickly shed the chakra shell, leaving a perfectly clean sword, and sat down to rest, raising his hitai-ate from his eyes. He loudly sighed at his approaching sensei.

"There's five of them alive, but paralyzed, I made sure to leave a few for interrogation." he quietly explained. He was feeling ill from the slaughter that he knew he had committed. Sixty people dead by his hand.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he stuttered "I-I just b-butchered s-sixty people. I'm a monster" he nearly cried. The adrenaline in his body was gone. It was one thing to fight back against an enemy, but this was slaughter. He shivered as Kakashi sat down next to him, putting a hand over his shoulder

"This is a dilemma that all shinobi face" he started in the kindest, most comforting tone he could gather

"we ask ourselves whether the killing we do was right, should we have taken a life. Know this, there is very little black or white in our world. You are not a monster, you killed bandits who were praying on the local populace, you didn't just _kill,_ you _protected_. You didn't kill indiscriminately, for pleasure. You drew no pleasure from the fact that you killed."

"Does it ever get any easier?" Naruto asked in a somewhat calmer, but still rather shaky voice

"Yes and no. You learn to steel yourself. You are worried about what you felt when you killed these men. Don't, you're human. For the day you stop feeling _anything _for the people you kill, you will stop being human and become a true _monster"_

Naruto visibly calmed at his words, considering this piece of wisdom, and accepting is as the truth. Kakashi smiled at his student. He was growing well. Apart from the first man, all others were clean kills, with minimal pain. They quickly located the few living bandits that were paralyzed by Naruto's liberal application of lightning jutsu

"So, you figured out one of the jutsu I gave you in a week?" Kakashi asked, his voice a mixture of pride and curiosity. Naruto smirked

"I learned all five and mastered all of them except for the fire one"

"Mastered?" Kakashi asked, now surprised

"I can even do the Shocking Paralysis without any handseals or words"

"So that's how you knocked them out"

Sighing tiredly, they both ate a food pill while waiting for Sasuke and Sakura to join them

* * *

**Author's Note: **This was the first showing of Naruto's new combat skills. Please take into account that that these are mostly ordinary thugs that relly on quantity over quality, so someone who is an expert on stealth and can see through the mist (how the hell do you think the maniac managed to paint the hokage monument in broad daylight? :P) killing them all off with a razor-sharp blade is a joke.

I would like to thank Inumiru for pointing out that I didn't put in the planned earth jutsu in the list. Thanks :D

Here's a note on the stuff used

**Radiance**

**Supplement to Combat styles  
**

Chakra manipulation/Shape - S-Class

No handseals, requires highly developed chakra tracing skills, allows perfect vision in a localized area dependent on the skills of it's user. Limited penetration.

**Lightning Release: Shocking Paralysis**

**Type : Offensive/Support, C-Rank**

The user, after completing the short chain of handseals slams his palm into a victim, the lighting scrambling the nervous system and muscle tissue causing a temporary paralysis effect on it's victim

Kubikiri Houcho

Weapon class - sword

Special :

Chakra shell Seal - allows the formation of a shell of pure chakra that increases the cutting power and strength of the blade. Can be imbued with different types of chakra for different effects

Sharpening and Strenghtening seal - Increases material strength and keeps the blade constantly sharp

Mystery seal - Not gonna tell you yet :P

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Read and review.**


	3. The End of a Life

**Author's Rambling: **Officially over 2k hits :D So I'm naturally happy. I'm wrapping up the mission in this chapter and will deal with the return home, the introduction to the chunin exams, after a short recovery time skip. Also, as you noticed I focus more on the issue of taking life then on the act itself, I feel the issue bears more weight to the development of characters than which jutsu said person used.

_**Answers to Reviews**_

harryPeru – Thanks for the compliments... the best way to learn is to practice mate :P

Blue Beluga – Thanks for pointing out the mistake, OpenOffice detects spelling errors, but not putting a wrong word :P

deathmvp – these are basically his first kills, although he understands the necessity of the action, he is still human.

Kusenhya-Kushiki – Riiight. Let's add a rusty spoon to the arsenal for additional entertainment :D

AutoNix – I have absolutely no idea where I"m going except for the pairing of Anko/NAruto and most likely Kurenai/Asuma. I"m still thinking of that (yeah, and I agree, a pink haired Uchiha sounds... disturbing)

RandomJoe - Nice of you to point it out. I would like to clarify this a bit. First, Naruto has about a month an a half of training his Radiance, meaning he can use it without problems. Second, these enemies are bandits. On a threat scale they are just above civilians and under mercenaries, which means easy to kill. If Naruto was fighting an enemy ninja, it would have been a completely different story. Besides, if he was a master of silent killing, after the first scream, there wouldn't have been any others (morale hit). Oh, and I can't get a good translator to work. I tried the one that was suggested, but I can't get it to translate the new jutsu I added, so...

The Human Wikipedia – Actually, it's five out of five elements, but at this point, Naruto has only his strong wind affinity manifested. The others are there, but dormant. You also know that ninja can use any element, but it's much harder to use those that aren't your affinity. And he mastered four out of five jutsu :P which means he uses them at full power, and that's it. No godlike powers or any other nonsense

sonofsparda – Constructive criticism is something I very much appreciate. I would have (probably) worked that one out a bit better but hangover really does mess with your mind when it comes to formatting :P

PS. for those interested why does it sound like Kakashi is repeating himself at the end of the chapter? To hammer in the meaning of his words to the stressed youth.

And here comes the chapter... enjoy

* * *

_Chapter 3 : The end of a life  
_

The sun's morning rays unveiled a somber scene scene outside the northern gate of Kazashi village. The corpses of over a hundred bandits that attacked last night were piled up and burned, the populace thanking Kami for the wind coming from the sea, carrying the stench away. Sakura and Sasuke were pale and worried, but Naruto was even worse, he still wasn't completely over the fact that he killed so many people last night. Although the fact that he won the bet against Kakashi helped raise his morale a bit.

Kakashi on the other hand felt tired. He decided to sacrifice his time of sleep to let his team recover, while he interrogated the few prisoners they gathered about the location and numbers of the bandit base. Hearing that there were over three hundred bandits left, Kakashi immediately sent for backup, and thankfully they would be arriving within a couple of hours, it would be Kurenai's team, as they are the best trackers of all the rookie teams in Konoha.

Kakashi tiredly watched his team as they sat down in a local tavern to get some breakfast. They were all exhausted, even the normally energetic Naruto was tired. Besides, the fact that all of them made their first kill, no _kills_ last night didn't really help their mood, but they took it better than expected. He smiled. His team had come far from what they were at the academy. He nearly laughed when he thought of the chunin exams. If someone asked him two months ago if he would let them compete, he would have said no outright. Now, he'd settle for a malicious laugh as he signed them in, and he would most likely do just that. This little train of thought had raised his spirits considerably, while his team mumbled something about 'crazy teachers' at his mildly disturbing smile. The mood had finally improved, and while tired, they soon started talking. All of them. Sakura had stopped fawning over Sasuke and spoke with Naruto normally, Sasuke and Naruto where still insulting each other as usual, but where once was malice, now there was mirth. He had gladly joined in the conversation, and they were all talking like old friends. For the first time in years, Hatake Kakashi remembered what it felt like to have a family. And this was damn close.

They went back to the inn to get some rest before their reinforcements arrived. Soon enough, Sasuke and Sakura were dozing off, and Kakashi had fallen asleep while Naruto stayed awake to keep watch, and, as usual, go through his notes on seals and fix up his coat. He silently thanked the old man for the reparation seal, otherwise he'd be left with a destroyed coat.

As hours passed, Naruto was increasingly bored. His unnatural stamina had it's advantages, and with just a few hours of relaxation he was almost back to normal. Thankfully, before his musings on pranks went to far, he felt four stronger chakra signatures approaching his door. His sharpened senses easily identified the smell of one Kiba Inuzuka and his dog Akamaru, along with the bug-like countenance of Shino Aburame. Team 8.

"Kakashi-sensei, wake up" he quickly prodded the silver-haired jounin"The cavalry is here"

Kakashi jerked up from his light sleep, turning to sit normally, and watching his crazy student with a smile, getting a good idea what he planned to do from his mischievous smile.

On the other side of the door a certain raven-haired jounin, followed by her team was about to knock on the door when she heard a voice

"Enter, the door's unlocked"

Inside, Kakashi laughed as he was pretty certain that Kurenai on the other side was just about to knock, and laughed even more when he saw her surprised face, quickly waking up Sasuke and Sakura.

"Hello Kurenai-san, Kiba, Hinata, Shino" Naruto jokingly saluted, trying hard to control his laughter as he didn't lift his head from the notebook he was reading. Kakashi replied with a light wave as he stopped his laughter

"Hello to you too Naruto. Anko sends her regards" Kurenai teasingly replied, hoping to see at least a blush on the boy's face, but was quickly disappointed. Kakashi on the other hand remembered the 'talk' that he, Kurenai and Anko had on the subject of everyone's favorite blond gaki. He smiled, '_Likes like Anko has it in for Naruto_'

"That's nice to hear Kurenai-san, I'll be sure to express my gratitude when I come home" he replied nonchalantly, causing Kurenai to slightly blush at the double meaning of the statement, while the others present stared at Naruto's witty remark.

"What?" he deadpanned.

_(Nightfall, Forest to the north-east of town)_

_(radio communications)_

_'Strike force, this is Sentry One, in position, over' _Sakura's voice echoed over the radio connection

_'Sentry two, in position, over' _Shino's monotone voice quickly joined.

'S-Sentry three, in p-position, over' Hinata's stuttering voice followed

_'Extraction team, awaiting orders, over' _Kurenai sent in an calm voice

_'_Strike force commander here, start the operation' Kakashi's voice ordered.

Within the reaches of this bandit cam, the day came to an end as it usually did, with food, alcohol, gambling and sex. A single man sadly sighed at the situation around him, disgusted by the actions of his two fellow nukenin. As a former grass shinobi, Kirie Hazachi has a degree of pride and honor, and there are things that he would _not _do. Rape was one of them. He didn't mind the occasional drink, but the drunkards around him sickened him. Standing up from the log he was sitting on, he cursed as a chewed on bone hit him. He decided to leave this place. A single man could only do so much, and he was sure that his 'companions' would rather stay here. He would not miss them. Perhaps a life on the run would be better anyway. His musings were, however rudely interrupted as he felt a number of chakra signatures around him. Ninja, most likely Leaf, here to exterminate the entire camp. '_Well, it wasn't that much of a surprise'_, he thought idly, as the bandits around him were completely oblivious to their impending doom. The group that attacked last night was wiped out and the idiots still do nothing. _'My time is nearly up as it is, perhaps among them there will be one...'._ He smirked as he heard the first explosion, and felt one of the ninja that infiltrated the camp move into the 'fearless leader's' tent.

_(With Sasuke and Kurenai)_

Sasuke silently cursed as he and Kurenai sneaked through the camp, their chakra suppressed so as not to attract any attention. Their target was the a large grayish tent where, according to Shino, the leader of the bandits was sleeping. The task was simple, try and enter without attracting any attention, or use the distraction caused by the attack to move in an disable him.

Kurenai silently cursed as she noticed the patrolling guards, and one of them was a former grass ninja. Sasuke, while somewhat cocky, wasn't idiotic enough to get himself needlessly killed, so he prepared a kunai and awaited further orders

'_Extraction team, awaiting orders, over_' Kurenai sent in an calm voice

_(With Shino)_

The calm and morose bug user carefully watched one of the four exits from the valley, his bugs and traps ready to take down anyone who tried to escape that way. He was still wondering to the nature of the change he had seen in the members of team 7. The former class clown, Uzumaki Naruto now had the appearance of a veteran ninja, and if he correctly heard the report that Kakashi had sent, he was probably the strongest of the three genin in the squad. The change in others was nothing less remarkable. Sasuke wasn't brooding and not once did he raise an objection to working as a team with others, even though he and Naruto kept insulting each other at every opportunity, there was no more malice between the two. Sakura had stopped clinging to Sasuke, and had spent the little free time they had chatting with Hinata. Also, she seemed far more confident than before. Sighing as he finished his preparation, e quickly clicked the communication headpiece

_'Sentry two, in position, over' _Shino's monotone voice quickly joined.

_(With Sakura)_

Unlike the other sentries, Sakura asked Naruto to borrow a few explosive tags and along with some of her ninja wire had set up a fine collection of traps through her exit. A pair of kunai resting in her hands and a number of shuriken prepared for throwing meant that all she now had to do was wait

_Strike force, this is Sentry One, in position, over' _Sakura's voice echoed over the radio connection

_(With Hinata)_

While lacking confidence, today, Hinata Hyuuga was on a crusade to prove herself to her long-time crush, Naruto Uzumaki. Unfortunately for her, the blond was still a bit dense when it came to social interaction and was all but blind to her affections. Sighing sadly, she took her position near one of the exits, using hey Byakugan to keep watch. No one would be passing by her

_'S-Sentry three, in p-position, over' _Hinata's stuttering voice followed

_(With Naruto, Kiba and Kakashi)_

The three ninja awaited in their concealed position near the last remaining entrance to the small valley, and therefore camp, for the signals of the others.

"Strike force commander here, start the operation" Kakashi's voice ordered, and as one the three ninja charged forth into the base, drawing as much attention as humanly possible. Naruto laughed at Kiba's shocked look as he unsealed the massive sword and charged forward. He had seen what these _men _had done, and there was little mercy left in him as the nearest bandit found out while his head was separated from the rest of his body. His compatriots weren't any luckier than him as one was turned into mincemeat, courtesy of Kiba's and Akamaru's combo Piercing Fang attack, while the other two were burned to cinders by Kakashi's fire jutsu. This explosive opening immediately attracted the attention of the entire camp, although those nearby weren't so fortunate, as Naruto and Kakashi threw a veritable hailstorm of kunai, every second one with an exploding tag rolled up around the hilt.

For the first time in his life, Kiba was speechless. The veteran jounin and the crazed blond were working perfectly as a tandem, quickly wiping out wast parts of the camp, while still avoiding any of the enslaved women and children. He was positively awed by the sight in front of him, but quickly snapped out and rejoined him. Kurenai had warned them not to underestimate Naruto Uzumaki, and now he got a first hand demonstration why The shocking fact that he had willingly blinded himself with his hitai-ate added to his awe. The time of the attack, combined with their target's inebriated state allowed the two to decimate their opponents. But the next event positively floored him as the two ninja simultaneously yelled.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**"

A cloud of dust and smoke quickly rose across the battlefield, but quickly dissipated to reveal two dozen Naruto and Kakashi clones, each and every one of them armed to the tooth. He and Akamaru followed and tried to keep up, but it was obvious just how outmatched they were. Similar thoughts occurred to the bandits, who were now in full rout. The remaining two hundred bandits and thugs were being systematically decimated without mercy, and as he heard over the radio, those who tried to escape were quickly eliminated by the sentries placed at the exits.

Naruto finally got a chance to vent the rage he'd been feeling ever since he found out that the damnable bandits practiced slavery, one of the few things that Naruto had no intention of forgiving. But it felt strange and wrong, to be able to take lives so easily. He had no illusions that these men were _innocent_ or that killing them would be a loss of life, quite the contrary. Since the battle less then a day ago, he had come to terms with the taking of life, and accepted it as the reality of his chosen profession. Take one life to preserve others. But never kill indiscriminately, never betray comrades, grow strong to protect, not to destroy. Protect what is precious. The lives of the people endangered were precious. The lives of his teammates were precious._ He would protect them._ With a grim look of determination, he waded back into combat.

Kakashi spared a moment to take a look at the impassive face of his student. He was happy that there wasn't any bloodlust...or pleasure, he was unsure which would have been more disturbing. For a moment he could have sworn that he had seen someone else fighting..

'_Strike force, we have the leader, proceeding to extraction point as agreed_'

"Kiba!" Naruto yelled "Watch out friendlies!"

Kiba, who had by that time gotten closer to the duo, quickly nodded and continued, and no more than a minute later, two shadows flashed by them, signaling that they were free to continue clearing the area.

Kirie Hazachi watched the proceedings with great interest. He felt no sadness for his two, now former companions who died rather stupidly, as he hid waiting for the battle to be over. The blond boy and his sensei were the strongest of all present. He recognized the man as Hatake Kakashi, better known as Sharingan Kakashi, or the Copycat ninja, but the boy was a mystery. The sword he wielded was easy to recognize, no one but the seven swordsmen would come up with such crazy weapons. What was even more interesting was that the boy wore his hitai-ate over his eyes He smirked, '_Perhaps today would truly be the day' _he sadly thought as he walked out of his hiding place and flared his chakra.

Naruto and Kiba were panting as they recovered from the battle. After the whole ordeal the rest of the two teams joined the aptly named strike force, their part of the mission accomplished. The captured leader would be interrogated and most likely executed afterward, but that was not their job. Now, at least they could go home.

But that was not to be apparently as a strong chakra signature flared nearby. Both teams tensed as a man walked out of one of the overlooked tents, bearing a simple katana in his arms. Naruto studied the man, he was in his late forties, but strongly built, tall and not overly muscular. He noted the slashed grass hitai-ate tied around his neck. He was dressed in a simple green and white kimono and sandals. He had long black hair tied in a braid, along with a finely chiseled face and deep brown eyes But what struck him most was the expression of his face and the emotions that his eyes gave away. Naruto couldn't place the name on a single emotion but he knew the look too well. The look of a man tired of his life, simply waiting for it to end, and a small, faint sign of hope.

"Young one" he spoke with a guarded voice, his thin finger pointing at Naruto "I would ask a favor of you"

For a moment a tense silence descended on the now-empty bandit camp as Naruto stood up, his left hand on the handle of the Kubikiri Houcho. He was tired, but the man's face brought up his curiosity

"What is it you wish old man?" he asked in a polite tone as the rest of the Konoha ninja gathered behind him

"To give me an honorable death" he said, his guard lowered, and his voice void of any deception. Naruto stood silent for a moment, gazing into the man's tired eyes. For a single moment, he felt the weight life had placed on the said man's shoulders: betrayal, loss of loved ones, death of friends, the burden of taking far too many lives for a man to remain completely sane. He was a man who simply wanted an end to it all.

"Was the loss so horrible?" Naruto asked in a sad voice. Kirie laughed. It was a terrible thing that laugh of his, hollow, broken and void of any emotion.

"Enough so that I have no more hope" he explained sadly "I have found what I pray is a worthy opponent to end my life."

"Naruto.." Kakashi started but was quickly stopped when Naruto raised his hand

"How do you wish to do this?" he asked quietly

"A full match, no rules until one of us falls." Kirie explained. Naruto quickly nodded

"Before we start, what is your name?" Naruto quickly asked

"Kirie Hazachi . And yours?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. A pleasure meeting you"

"Likewise"

Naruto quickly removed his red coat and handed it to Kiba who was standing nearby as he went over the seals on his arms. This would not be an easy battle.

Kirie on the other hand simply watched the boy prepare himself for the battle. He knowingly smiled at the fact that the boy was giving him his best. He vaguely recognized the weight seals on both the boy's arms and legs, and he popped two pills into his mouth. Now he was ready.

"I would ask you all to stand back and not interfere" Naruto quietly asked in a solemn voice. His teammates were eying him nervously, but his sensei had accepted his decision, and would respect it.

Both ninja assumed their stances, blades drawn and charged.

"Kakashi-sensei? Whats going on? Why is Naruto fighting that man?" Sakura asked questions in rapid succession, and before Kakashi could reply, Kiba added his two cents

"And why aren't we helping him?"

Kakashi sighed sadly, and wondered how to explain the situation to them. He wondered even more at the fact that Naruto was mature enough to understand what the man asked of him.

_'So how do I explain this? Sigh...'_

"That man... has lost too much to keep living" he started uncertainly "and only wishes that his death be in combat...a dying man's wish as it were. I would ask... not to interrupt them"

He smiled sadly. He knew the face the man wore all too well, he had seen that look on many of his comrades after the war, those who had lost everything they held dear.

Naruto panted as they crossed blades. The older man was stronger than he was and far _far _more experienced. He blocked every single attack he made with that katana of his. '_There's always that_' he smirked.

"A trick up your sleeve young one?" Kirie jokingly asked, but the look in his eyes said otherwise

"A little something I figured out" Naruto replied as he began pushing a vast amount of chakra into the sword. Kirie cringed at the build up, and tried to pull back. A single 'huh' was heard before Naruto slammed his sword into that of his opponent and the entire store of chakra inside was unleashed. Violently. For a second Kirie Hazachi watched in horror as his blade was broken into minuscule shards, before he smiled. The boy was even better than he expected. The same could not be said for his right arm which now bleed.

On the other side, members of team 7 and 8 watched in shock as a blue explosion pulverized Kirie's sword. Kakashi grinned at his pupil's trick. Kurenai watched in shock and remembered what Anko had said about the boy '_Don't underestimate him. A few years, and he'll be giving us all a run for our money_'.

Unknown to the others, a third party was gleefully watching the battle. In his cage stuck inside a forsaken sewer (oh, he was going to talk with his jailer about that alright), the mightiest of all of the bijuu, the nine-tailed demon fox sat curled up and watched the show.

"**Ahh, if I only had some popcorn**" he sighed wishfully as he enjoyed the sight of the boy using a technique that he had by himself figured out. Over the past few years, and more specifically the last two or three months he began respecting the boy for his tenacity, raw guts and wit. It was a shame that it took the death of someone the boy had found close to get him on the right track, but there was no use crying over spilled milk. He gave his word to help the boy. It was the least he could do for making his existence bearable. He wondered how much more could he teach the boy.

Naruto smirked at his opponent and did his best to conceal that this attack drained nearly a fourth of his chakra. A slight miscalculation on his part, but it was worth it, as it gave him what he hoped would be an advantage. The old man was _good._ He charged at him for a horizontal slash, but Kirie quickly dodged beneath it, charging forward and slamming him in the gut, and blowing his sword away with his other hand. Naruto cursed, and jumped back, trying to avoid his enemy's attacks while he planned his next move. He had no more than a second before his enemy charged at him. Smiling, he quickly threw a kunai at his opponent, barely missing him.

Kirie rushed Naruto, but silently cursed when the boy used the **substitution jutsu **to quickly replace himself with the hissing kunai he had just thrown. _'Wait, hissing? SHIT'_

Naruto watched as his opponent went straight into the explosion and quickly started forming handseals

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Fire**"

A number of small fireballs quickly fly towards the smoke cloud formed from the exploding tag,as Naruto once more begins a quick chain of handseals, keeping silent as he sinks into the ground.

Kirie once more cursed. He had planned this to be a worthy death, and the boy was quite worthy, but to be outsmarted like this by a genin? He was getting rusty. A sealless shunshin had gotten him away from the attack, but now his blond opponent was nowhere in sight

Naruto, who had resurfaced behind a tree rubbed his lower ribs. At least one of them was broken and bruised. The old guy packed quite a punch, and he still wasn't using any jutsu. And he was getting tired, as the fatigue of the battle caught up with him. He would have to finish this quickly. There was always _that_ option. Sighing, he drew three small scrolls from their holder on his left leg, immediately unrolling one and smearing his blood on it's surface. He just prayed that this would work. He slowly walked out from his cover, causing a raised eyebrow from his opponent

"Hey old man" he said in a nervous voice "I want to try something"

Smirking, his opponent started going through handseals at an alarming rate. Naruto silently prayed that his knowledge hadn't failed him.

Time slowed down for Naruto as he watched his opponent perform his seals. Rapidly cutting both his thumbs on his elongated canines, he threw both scrolls into the air, each of them unrolling as he smeared his blood on both. The action was followed by a quick succession of handseals as both scrolls once more began to roll up. Slamming his hand with the third scroll, now attached to a kunai, into the ground he yelled.

"**Secret Art: Triune Hunters**"

For a moment nothing happened, but Kirie's face soon changed from amused to horrified as the earth beneath his feet now held him in place. And then the two scrolls unleashed their attack, a blade of wind along with a lance of lightning, both of which pierced his chest in an instant. Both enemies smiled for a moment as they both fell on the ground, one dead the other unconscious. The last sight both saw was a number of shinobi rushing towards Naruto.

_(Two days later)_

Naruto quietly sighed as he stood over the grave of Kirie Hazachi, former grass chunin, and his first real opponent. He sadly smiled at the remains of the sword which were placed over his grave, along with his scratched hitai-ate. A modest burial, but sufficient. Paying his last respects to his former opponent, he rejoined his team as they went back home.

_(Konoha, a week later)_

There are a few places withing the village hidden in the leaves that are avoided by the populace. One such place is the ANBU headquarters, and another was training ground 44, better known as the Forest of Death. One would also wonder why a certain blonde boy was merrily jumping from one tree to the other, completely unfazed by the fact that in his immediate vicinity were over ten species of animals that would gladly make him their lunch. Then again, most of those animals knew trouble when they saw it, and a boy leaking killing intent was certainly trouble. So as long as he didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother him.

Naruto Uzumaki had taken his day off to see a friend. She did tell him that he could find her here...

"Should have asked for a map" he quietly grumbled at the fact that he couldn't find the object of his quest into the forest. Although he found the place more than enjoyable. '_I should start training here_'he idly thought as he jumped, searching for any trace of Anko's chakra. Thankfully, the old man had finished the debriefing quickly., even though he had to explain a few things.

_(Flashback)_

"Good work" Sarutobi heartily congratulated them before handing out the pay for the mission. "Naruto, could you stay for a moment?"

"Sure old man" the blonde boy merrily answered

"NARUTO! Show some respect for the Hokage" Sakura screeched while bumping him on the head. Naruto merely sighed as the rest of his team, minus Kakashi left the office.

"So, I heard you made a new jutsu" Sarutobi curiously asked. Naruto assumed his thinking pose, his hand beneath his chin

'_I made a jutsu alright, but it still needs some tweaking_'

"Yeah, I did. But it still needs some work" Naruto replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. The old Hokage laughed.

"Kakashi already explained, but I'm curious as to how it works"

Naruto once more found himself with two options. Neither would mind if he kept quiet, but were genuinely curious, and the knowledge might help both. Smiling, he began his 'lecture'

"First of all, I prepared three seal scrolls, each containing an array which gathers and converts chakra into one of the three used elements : earth, wind and lightning. Now, the arrays are relatively complex, consisting of multiple chakra storage seals directly connected to a chakra burst seal coupled with a transformation seal which gives the attacks their shape. A blood seal binds the three scrolls to the user, and after projecting two chakra strings, you throw both in the air while performing a sequence of hand seals that further shapes and focuses the attack at a specific target. After that, you slam the earth scroll into the ground, preferably via kunai. At that moment the three scrolls activate and burn themselves out. The earth scroll makes a temporary prison for the victim, binding him up to his or her waist. The wind and lighting scrolls unleash two attacks aimed wherever you want them. The whole trick is that the scrolls unleash as much power as you send through the strings before activating them" Naruto completed his explanation leaving a stunned Kakashi and a smiling Sarutobi

"Well, that was an excellent explanation. I am glad to see that your sealing skills are improving at such a fast rate"

"Thanks old man. I'll make sure to prepare a copy of my notes for these three for the next time I drop by"

"You do that Naruto" The hokage idly added while drawing from his pipe. Kakashi one more made one of his eye-smiles before vanishing in a poof of smoke

_(End flashback)_

At the same time, Anko Mitarashi was returning from the ANBU interrogation center and heading for her small camp in her beloved Forest of Death. Bound to the place by memories both good and bad, most involving her old sensei, she also loved the place for it's ferocity. It served as a home, a training ground and finally as a refuge from the hateful glares and whispers. It was her personal sanctuary, and Kami help whoever tried to defile it. She sensed a somewhat familiar chakra signature inside her small camp, and heaven help the person there if he or she didn't have a good reason.

However, her rage quickly vanished after she recognized the sleeping form of the young man who saved her life a while ago. Well, no one said she couldn't tease him a bit. Making a grin that would make most grown men run in fear, she slowly stalked her way over with a kunai in hand. When she was just a few steps away, she threw the kunai, aiming for his right cheek, curious as a cat to see how the blond would react. She wasn't disappointed when the boy caught the kunai with his hand

"You know Anko-san, it really isn't polite to cut up people when they try to sleep" he said in a mock-scolding tone. It took a second for both to start laughing.

"So, what brings you here Foxy?" she asked with a big grin. Naruto merely returned one of his real smiles before unsealing a large platter of her favorite food

"Can't a friend just drop by for a visit?" he asked jokingly. But the result of his joke surprised him as Anko made a serious face. The short flash of recognition he felt in the forest now returned.

"You consider me your friend?" she asked. Her voice was worried... uncertain and just a bit hopeful. He sighed sadly. No one deserved such treatment

"Yes. I do" he shortly explained before handing her the plate. She immediately perked up after his response

"Say, how did you know I loved dango? I don't remember telling you that"

"I asked Kurenai" he deadpanned and Anko once more laughed. The boy was as direct as ever.

"Soooo" she started, purposefully elongating the 'o', "How did your mission go?"

It was now Naruto's turn to get somber as he retold the events of his trip south, the killing he performed and finally his battle with Kirie Hazachi. Anko intently listened to the boy's story, enjoying his detailed descriptions of events and places. After he finished his storytelling they both simply laid down in the grass, watching the clouds slowly pass.

"You know" Anko started, catching the blond jinchuriki's attention "I had similar thoughts when I made my first kill"

He smiled. He wasn't sure why, but even during their short stay in the forest a while back, talking with her was relaxing, to say the least. They were very much alike, both outcasts of society, hated for things beyond their power to control. Both crazy in their own way.

"Thanks" he softly whispered as he fell asleep next to her. For the first time in years, Anko made a gentle smile, before doing the same.

_(Next day, Training ground 7)_

Once again, Sakura was treated to the sight of Naruto working over his notes.

"Sheesh Naruto" she started, but without any real anger "Do you ever leave those notes?"

Naruto made a small smile before answering "No"

Shaking her head and muttering something about blonde idiots, she sat down next to him, dozing off until the rest of the team showed up. Much to her displeasure, they came within a few minutes.

After what passes as customary greetings among Team 7, Kakashi pulled out three papers.

"Well everyone, I've recommended you for the Chunin exams this year. If you want to participate, take this to room 301 in the academy next monday, nine o'clock sharp. I've got to run now, so you think this over carefully, and good luck. " with those words Kakashi once more vanished in a cloud of smoke while the rest of Team 7 wondered what he was doing.

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**Author's notes: **There endeth another chapter... not some of my best work, but I'm relatively pleased. I hope I din't mess up the scene with Anko too much. They're both crazy, but they're also both themselves while with each other. And I hope the battle between Naruto and Kirie was okay. It's my first time writing a more serious battle so have some mercy on the flames :P

As always, read/review give me your opinion on the work otherwise I can't improve even a bit :D

Oh and about the new jutsu

_**Secret Art : Triune Hunters**_

_**Rank: C-Rank up to S-rank depending on the amount of chakra used**_

_**Type : Fuinjutsu.**_

_**Requires three specially prepared seal scrolls and basic use of chakra strings**_

The jutsu is explained above in any case so enjoy :P


	4. The Chunin Exams : Introduction

**Author's Ramblings: **Hello everyone, I've posted yet another chapter of the story, and I'm very glad to see the number of people who read it so far. **5,203 Hits and 2,712 Visitors **, as copied from the traffic page on the site. Anyho, back to the story, I've decided to tactfully remove Kabuto here. Perhaps he'll show up again, perhaps he wont... so, this chapter goes on to reveal Naruto's newest trick and some of his team's new ones

As for your reviews

Drake the flame shinobi – I thought of it somewhat different. Warriors aren't meant to die of old age,if yo know what I mean. Also, this will _most likely_ be a simple Anko x Naruto fic. I'm considering adding another girl, but I'm keeping a secret as to who it could be :P

to formerly 'The Human Wikipedia' - Brain development is not exactly a valid excuse for a jinchuriki since we have no scientific study to point out how that works (in other words, this is a fan fiction, so normal, sane or simply natural rules don't exactly apply. Besides, exposure to information strengthens the brain very much like the way the small damage we inflict on our muscles while practicing makes them grow stronger to adapt) ps. I just had to do a bit of bsing... bad day and all that..

the-constructive-critic – Nice to receive a serious review. I intend to develop their relationship slowly. I do NOT intend to get them in bed after three chapters, okay? :P As for the length, I usually clock out at 6-8k words. Also, Anko and several other characters will start appearing a bit more now.

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_Chapter 4 : The Chunin Exams, Introduction_

Monday. A day generally despised the working populace of no mater which village, city, country or universe.

Naruto shook the cobwebs out of his head as he woke up and looked out the window. Outside, rain was falling. Hard, and judging by the angle, a strong wind was blowing as well. _'And I have my first exam today' _he thought, silently cursing the damnable weather as he took out a bowl of instant ramen. At least some comforts are always there. He still had an hour before he had to go. Rapidly devouring his ramen, he planned for today.

"What should I pack?" he asked no one in particular as his eyes moved from one shelf to another, thinking over the coming exam, going through the possibilities and eventually deciding to play it safe. He quickly made his bed, and placed the book on human anatomy back on it's shelf.

Taking of his pajamas and standing in front of a mirror, he carefully studied all of the seals he had placed on himself. The chakra weights he got from Yugao had helped him develop his body even more. His athletic physique and well developed muscle-mass granted him a good combination of speed ans strength. The seals he had placed were mostly simple ones. Storage seals for his sword and other weapons, a few weight seals he used when in the field as chakra weights, while better for training, were downright impractical _'I'll have to improve these' _he idly reminded himself. The third category were the ones he was truly proud of.

After spending the better part of the previous month carefully studying the book on 'Advanced Seal Theory' given to him by the aged hokage, he found that the previous owner had a very similar way of thinking. Whoever 'MN' was, he was used to thinking outside the box, as it were, and so was Naruto. That's how he came up with the idea for his **Triune Hunters**, and another note made him very interested. While chakra storage seals were mostly used as a battery for running a larger array, one of their more interesting properties was that once placed on a living body, they slowly siphoned chakra, slowly gathering power. And, with proper additions, those same seals can be made to release all that power back to the body. Unlike chakra pills, there are no side effects, as this was the body's own chakra. His forays into medicine had given him the brilliant idea of forming a seal that would convert normal chakra into medical chakra, but that was nowhere near as easy as it sounded, but should it work...

He also made a sadistic grin worthy of his friend Anko at the special kunai he had prepared. He analyzed and broke down all of the seals from the sword except the last one which still gave him headaches. The sharpening and shell seals were now safely added to fifty kunai, each and every one of them also fitted with a chakra storage seal filled to the brim. He laughed gleefully at the fact that his enemies would now have even more trouble recognizing what was coming at them. The field of fuinjutsu had proven to be infinitely rewarding. From everyday applications to specific solutions of unusual problems. That combined with his ever-growing knowledge of ninjutsu and constant practices of kenjutsu gave him a good edge over his enemies. His taijutsu, while nowhere near perfect, was still quite good thanks to his reflex training and the Radiance field he had finally perfected. Also, his growing knowledge of medicine and things such as pressure points were quite useful as well. Knowing where the vulnerable points were meant you could hit them quite a bit easier. He grinned at the fact that he could now rely on all of his six senses in combat without facing mental overload.

Making sure to pack all fifty of his kunai into the various storage seals on his hands, along with the ever impressive Kubikiri Houcho, which now sported a bandage-like gray material which was tied up around the blade, he turned to his other equipment. Two small bags of chakra and food pills, check. Three first aid kits, along with homemade and tested antitoxins and mental stimulants, check. His calligraphy kit, check. Five sets of **Triune Hunter** scrolls, double check. Exploding tags, twenty pieces, check. Twenty smoke bombs, check. Two two-hundred-meter spools of ninja wire, check. A set of fifty standard kunai, one hundred shuriken and twenty senbon needles, check. Three vials of knockout and paralyzing venom each, double check. Food and water supplies to last a four-man cell a month, sealed into scrolls, check. And last, but definitely not least, his newest surprise for the exams. On his working desk was a pair of bracers, made from an unidentifiable black metal, ornately decorated. But that wasn't what was so special about them. Not even the hardening seals which allowed the bracers to be used as a defense were special. The real thing inside was Naruto's first Life seal array. The results of two months of work, were now turned into a pair of bracers that could raise a temporary barrier which absorbed chakra and channeled it back to him after purifying it. There was a limit as to how much it could absorb at once, but he knew well enough to be careful. Whatever hell the exams have in store for him, he was now ready.

He slowly walked over to his closet, and picked out his clothes. A pair of light black boots, brown pants and a light gray shirt. He gently placed the small necklace Haku had given him, the snowflake design now covered by his shirt. It wasn't a decoration to be flaunted. It was a reminder of what had been lost and of his oath. And finally, to top it all, he took his red coat. Grinning, he decided against hiding his sword. While he still wasn't tall enough to normally carry it, when diagonally held against his back, it was still quite easy to reach. He smiled at the weather outside. While he found the rain to be pleasant, he accidentally discovered a way to walk in the rain without getting a much as wet from it. During his practice with water walking, he accidentally started putting out chakra above him, and to is surprise the rain couldn't get through. He idly wondered if it could be used as a shield as he walked

The perfectly confident figure of the young jinchuriki would have drawn glares from the villagers... if there had been any villagers in the rain. Apart from the few shinobi guards, he was hard pressed to see anyone. Deciding that there was enough time to waste, he paid a visit to one of his favorite places in the whole world: the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. He made another genuine smile as he drew close to the, as he called it, best ramen hop in the world, quickly drawing the attention of Teuchi Ichiraku, the owner and Ayame, his daughter.

"Hey brat" Teuchi happily greeted him "The usual?"

"Yep, one of each. I have an exam today" he chirped. The pair that worked at the shop were some of the only people in the world that he fully trusted, and was really happy with. They had both seen his false smiles, and especially the real ones which were far rarer. Teuchi went to cooking with a wide grin. His favorite customer eats for a full squad when it comes to ramen. Ayame chuckled at the short exchange between the two

"Hello Naruto-kun" she gave him a small hug, which he gladly returned.

"Hello yourself Ayame-chan" he smiled back at the girl. Ayame was the closest thing he had to a sister, always willing to offer advice and support

"What's that I hear about exams?" she asked curiously.

"Chunin exams, they're starting today"

"So that's why there's so many strangers in town" she commented with a finger on her chin, stuck in her thinking pose.

"Yeah, but they won't cause any trouble" he chuckled "That's reserved for the exams"

"Right. Then eat up, we wouldn't want you to be late" she chimed.

After Naruto's portion of the food was served, he finished the ten bowls of ramen in record time, before saying goodby and going to the academy building.

It was still raining. The blond smiled as he approached the entrance to the building where he recognized the silhouettes of Sasuke and Sakura. They were still wearing their normal clothes, only covered by raincoats. He spotted the pair of gloves still on Sasuke's hand, and the new wakizashi he had started using. He was nowhere near a master like him, but the few enhancements Naruto had added gave him an edge. Sakura on the other hand had also prepared. He noticed the pouches attached to her belt along with several storage scrolls in a holder. _'So they don't prepare like I do. Not everyone is as thorough I suppose. Still it is an improvement' _ he thought as the three of them wordlessly entered the building.

"You guys ready?" Naruto quietly asked as the trio walked towards the staircase to the second floor

"What do you think dobe?" Sasuke replied with a wicked smile, his gloved arm resting on the hilt of the wakizashi. Sakura merely shook her head at the macho idiots alongside her.

"We're as ready as we can be" she idly commented "Let's just hope Naruto doesn't screw up on some technicality"

"That'll be the day" Sasuke gingerly added, as they passed an obvious genjutsu on the second floor and headed straight for the third, Sasuke in the lead, Naruto and Sakura flanking him. Their passing however attracted the attention of many. Some jealous, some hateful, some curious and some even bored. As the doors of room 301 loomed, the team noticed a familiar figure reading a certain orange book.

"Congratulations on getting into the exam" Kakashi said with a big eye-smile.

"What do you mean getting into the exam?" asked an indignant Sakura

"Simple, if you hadn't all shown up, you wouldn't be able to take the exam. But you did, so the rules are a moot point now" he quickly explained. Sasuke and Naruto shrugged, while Sakura gave Kakashi a glare.

"Well, good luck in the exams!" he added before poofing away.

"Damn bastard" Naruto said jokingly "Let's see what our competition's like"

And so, with utmost confidence the trio walked into the classroom. The noise coming from the crowded room instantly vanished as they walked in, all faces turned to face them, and a lot of killing intent focused in their direction. To their credit, Sasuke and Sakura didn't even flinch. Naruto on the other hand had a certain fox train him to... resist and use such abilities, but decided against it, because he'd need the fox's chakra to scare them all off. Soon enough he noticed familiar faces

"Oi Naruto" he recognized Kiba's boisterous voice.

"Hey Kiba, Shino. Where's Hinata?" he greeted and asked curiously, failing for the moment to spot the blue-haired girl.

"I-I'm here" she meekly whispered, getting up from the row behind Kiba

"Hey Hinata, good luck with the exams" he smiled at the girl, who blushed.

Sasuke was busy fighting off Ino, much to Naruto's entertainment as a bit of Sakura's fangirl personality came back.

"You people sure make a lot of noise" a somewhat serious voice interrupted them. Naruto turned to face a silver haired, spectacle wearing teen with a Konoha hitai-ate. He seemed a kind enough sort, but there was something that just felt wrong about him. _'Why the hell does he smell like snakes?'_

Kyuubi, being as bored as he usually is when Naruto isn't in a fight chimed in

"**Who else do you know who smells like snakes?**"

'_Anko, no one.... snake shit_'

"**Atta boy, good thinking**"

_'I'll figure out how to inform the old man later'_

"You got a problem with that?" Naruto quickly commented

"Not really" he said waving his arms apologetically "It'll just get you killed. By the way the name is Kabuto"

"Thanks for the... concern. My name is Naruto" he quipped sarcastically while returning the introduction

"You do seem a bit old for the chunin exams though" Shikamaru's voice came through. Naruto smirked at the sight of the lazy genius, as he remembered the good times that the two of them along with Kiba and Chouji had back at the academy.

"I'm something of a veteran here" Kabuto commented

"So you've done this exam once before?" Sakura asked hopefully, planning to get some info.

"Not exactly... I've done it seven times" he replied grinning sheepishly, which caused the others to sweatdrop.

"So basically, you suck" Kiba commented bluntly. Said man's eyebrow twitched for a moment.

"Anyway, I've got some info if you're interested" he commented as he pulled out a number of blank cards. The lot of them stared at the cards intently, while Kabuto smirked.

"I've been gathering info on my opponents. These are special cards, with a bit of chakra they reveal stored information on other ninja. Anyone in particular you'd like to know about?" he asked with a wide smile. Sasuke was the first to reply

"Rock Lee"

Shikamaru quickly followed "Gaara from Suna, Sasuke Uchiha and Uzumaki Naruto"

"Well that's not a challenge" Kabuto replied with mock-sadness

"Rock Lee, genin of Konoha, 25 D-Rank, 12 C-rank missions, focuses on taijutsu, extremely developed physical skills, no nin or genjutsu. Teammates include Neji Hyuuga and Tenten. Sensei is Maito Gai"

"Sabaku no Gara, genin of Suna, 10 C-ranked and 2 B-ranked missions, as mastery over sand, no other skills known. Has returned unscratched from every mission. Not bad"

Naruto's mind stopped here for a second. He connected the face to the strongest source of killing intent he had felt in the room. The red-headed boy in the back with black circles around his eyes

_'Kyu, does something seem wrong about that guy to you?'_

_'_**His eyes, face and chakra scream jinchuriki, and his teammates and siblings unless I'm mistaken are scared of him**_'_

_'Do you know which one?'_

"**The poor kid's stuck with that crazy bastard Shukaku, the one tailed raccoon Just another reason you should be happy you got me**_"_

'_I haven't doubted that for a while now Kyu. Thanks_'

"**You're welcome kit. Now go kick ass"**

Quickly tuning back to the outside world, he listened as Kabuto continued speaking.

"Uchiha Sasuke, genin of Konoha, 25 D-ranked, 2 C-ranked, 2 A-ranked, not bad, missions, proficient in ninjutsu, last surviving loyal member of the Uchiha clan, bearer of the Sharingan. Teammates Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto"

"And finally Naruto Uzumaki, genin of Konoha, 25 D-ranked, 2 C-ranked, 3 A-ranked missions, proficient in ninjutsu, kenjutsu and fuinjutsu. Bearer of Kubikiri Houcho. You're good kid"

"Thanks" Naruto politely replied while inside, he was seething. Why? Because this man knew one detail that was only written in the private records in the Hokage's tower. In other words this man is a spy. Because there was no other way for him to know that he was effectively paid an A rank mission for taking down Mizuki when he stole the scroll that night so long ago.

Settling to unmask the spy later, he turned to the rest of his companions, silently asking them not to make a scene as he went to his seat. As soon as he sat down, the doors opened and a group of chunin, followed by a man in a black trenchcoat which Naruto immediately recognized as Ibiki Morino, the sweetest guy on earth as Anko once put it. Although he was wondering how the head of ANBU interrogation and torture could be so sweet, that was indeed the subject for another time as the scarred man bellowed, immediately silencing the entire room

"Quiet maggots!" he yelled "My name is Ibiki Morino and I'll be the proctor of the first part of your chunin exam"

Ibiki proceeded to explain the simple rules of the exam

"The rules are simple. You have ten questions to answer in one hour. Cheating is NOT allowed. You will lose one point for each question you answer wrong, you will also lose two points each time you are caught. Lose all points and you and your team are out. The last question is a special one and it will be asked fifteen minutes before the exam ends. Now get started!"

Naruto's smirk was quickly wiped clean of his face as he realized he didn't know the answer to any of the questions.

_'Wait, these questions are to hard for a possible chunin to answer, hell I think these are ANBU tests. So that means we're not supposed to answer at all. What did he say about cheating? Not allowed, but only a two point deduction if you get caught? What did Anko say about Scarface over there? Specializes in mental torture, so he's trying to screw around with our minds.'_

"Numbers 52, 53 and 54 you are out!" one of the proctors bellowed as the three would-be chunin were escorted outside. Naruto quickly calmed down. '_Information gathering_' he finally figured out. He quickly spotted other people cheating, although they were doing their best not to get caught. Sasuke was using his sharingan to copy the moves of a another student, while Sakura actually _knew_ the answers, which for some reason scared him.

"Numbers 13, 14 and 15, out!" another voice said

A kunoichi from Konoha used mirrors that were attached to the ceiling via chakra strings to copy the correct responses from another participant. Focusing his chakra to the Radiance field around him, he quickly searched for people who knew the answers and started copying the moves they made as he got one question at a time.

"Numbers 103, 104,105 out!" one of the proctors threw out another team

On the opposite side of the room, Ibiki was carefully studying the genin gathered here, his questioning gaze staying on a person just long enough to unnerve them. When his gaze reached Naruto, he almost smirked

_'So that's the wonder kid Anko talks so highly about. He seems to be copying the answers but I can't figure out how. Maybe it's that fancy technique Anko was mentioning. Still, he suppressed his chakra, and didn't even flinch at my killing intent, unlike the others. And his records are good'_

Naruto however was now busy doing something else. He had finished writing the exam, but now he needed to leave a quick message for Ibiki. Anko had said that he was as serious about his work as they get, so he would take this the right way. Quickly finishing the small seal he and channeling just enough chakra through his fingers he added the note 'for Scarface' beneath it, before slumping down and waiting the last fifteen minutes to pass.

"Listen up" Ibiki's voice once more bellowed "It's time for the final question. You all have the choice of taking it or not. Should you decide against it, you are to leave now and you and your team are disqualified" he stopped for a moment, letting the information sink in

"However, should you chose to try and answer the question and get it wrong, you are permanently banned from any future chunin exams" he said in dark voice.

For one moment, the room was silent, before erupting into loud complaints from various people

"You can't do that. There's a lot of people here who are on their second or third exam" screamed a blond girl wearing a Suna headband

"Tough luck. The didn't have me as their proctor" Ibiki replied nonchalantly. "So? What's your decision?"

A number of hands rose to the air, and soon the teams those hands belonged to were escorted out of the room.

Naruto noticed that Hinata and Sakura were about to raise her hand, and he started thinking quickly. _'If Sakura gave up, our team goes home, and I know she's good enough to pass, I helped her train._ _Hinata had confidence issues, that much is obvious but I remember her doing excellent work on that mission. I think a little help is in order'_

Bowing his head slightly to hide his smirk, he started to rise his hand. Sasuke's face went into involuntary shock, but that was quickly replaced with a smirk as he saw the smirk on the blond's face. Ibiki had a similar reaction, but wondered what the kid was about to do. Just as he was about to call him out, Naruto slammed his hand on the desk

"So fucking what if we can't take the test again? None of us got here without taking risks, so why should we stop now? If I fail, I'll just be the first genin-turned-Hokage anyway"

Sasuke's grin turned wider as he noticed just how many of the genin here now exuded confidence because of his words.'_Nice one dobe. You always were good at spouting shit that got to people_'

Even the normally shaky Hinata now looked ready to kill. Sakura smiled at her blond teammate, grateful for the reassurance. Ibiki, of course was going through his own thoughts

_'Not a bad move kid, you might just make a good leader yet. Anko may have been on to something'_

The remaining 24 teams awaited the tenth question with utter confidence in their ability to answer it and pass the test. Ibiki gave a scary grin

"Now for the tenth question..." he stopped there, the tension in the room rising "You all pass"

The reaction from the crowd was anything but unexpected, so Naruto tuned out the crowd as Ibiki explained how important information gathering was and how they would be forced to make similar choices throughout their ninja carrier. Just as he finished a black ball of cloth crashed through through window rapidly followed by four kunai, sticking each of the corners, turning it into a banner that proudly stated:

'_The great Mitarashi Anko, proctor of the second exam_'

The banner was soon followed by the lady herself, an Naruto had to bite down on his lip just to stop himself from laughing at her crazy antics. The rest of them were a bit... scared. And very likely for a good reason too.

"What's this Ibiki? Twenty four teams? You're getting soft in your old age" Anko teased while still keeping her dangerous grin. The genin, apart from a few, were getting nervous

"Maybe we just got a good crop this year."

"Yeah, right" she chuckled "But no worries, by the time I'm done with them their number will be cut down in half... at least"

"Alright kiddies, show up tomorrow morning at nine in front of the Forest of Death, alias training ground 44 or you fail!"

With those words, the rest of the classroom slowly left with the exception of Naruto, who slowly walked over to the scary pair

"Nice to see you again Anko" he said with a wide smile, not in the least afraid of her. Ibiki meanwhile studied them carefully, considering new ways to tease Anko.

"Likewise gaki" she chirped "You should get some rest, the test's gonna be a bitch"

"Really? That should be fun. Just thought I'd tell ya, I left a note in the exam paper, do read it Scarface" he said jokingly and running off through the window, not waiting to see the twitching of Ibiki's eyebrow.

"He got ya good, Scarface" Anko chuckled at the blond's antics

"Your boyfriend's a funny guy..." he answered darkly, almost failing to notice a barely visible blush creep up Anko's face

"Anko dear, are you blushing?" he teased, his grin back in full force

"N-no, w-what gave you that idea?" she tried to save herself from the embarrassment and teasing that would follow "Besides didn't he say there was a message for you there?"

For the moment, Ibiki Morino considered what was so important that he couldn't tell him in person, and wondered if it was some sort of prank concocted by the boy. Sighing he went over to pick up the boy's test and noticed a hastily written seal, signed 'for Scarface'. Another twitch instantly followed, but he suppressed the desire to rip the paper to shreds. So he did the first thing that came to mind, channeled a bit of chakra into the seal. The watched as the seal broke into little snake-like strands of ink, quickly devouring the rest of the ink on the paper before turning into a complete text

_For Ibiki Morino, head of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Division_

_Concerning a spy in our midst_

_The Konoha genin, identified as Kabuto, unknown last name (silver hair, spectacles)is a spy for Orochimaru, identified by his scent of snakes which only two people have, one being Anko Mitarashi the other the big snake himself. The proof that he is a spy is that he possesses certain pieces of information that only the Hokage and myself are aware of, such the aftermath of Mizuki's betrayal which was classified as my first A-rank mission. The data is located within the Hokage tower's records, and as such is off-limits to anyone not cleared by the Hokage As for the confirmation on the scent of snakes, I am certain that Anko Mitarashi is more than willing to confirm it._

_Naruto Uzumaki_

Ibiki's eyes went wide at the small report he just read, each piece perfectly supported by logic and proof.

"Hey Anko" he called her

"What did the gaki write?"

"We have a spy to catch"

_(00:12, The Hokage Tower, Hall of Records)_

Kabuto Yakushi thanked his lucky star for tonight. He had managed to sneak into the tower, deftly avoiding the guards and reaching the records he needed. Using a small wisp of chakra to illuminate the cabinet, he quickly ran through the records, picking out several folders and laying them on top of the cabinet. He proceeded to do the same with several others. Finally, he started copying the data from the records to a scroll. He would have finished if he didn't suddenly feel a pinprick to his neck. He never saw it coming. He cursed his own stupidity as his world went black.

_(01:30, Roof of the Hokage Tower)_

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the rain fall, the cover it formed concealing most of the village. His high vantage point was one of the best places to simply stand with ones thoughts. He found the sight of the peaceful village bellow him soothing. His memories went back to other times. The third Shinobi War, his youth, his pupils, his two sensei. He raised his two hands and took a long, sobering look at them. He was growing _old_. And he had made so many mistakes. It was time to make a decision

"Hokage-sama" the voice of an ANBU interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?" he answered without turning

"A spy has been captured while sneaking in the hall of records by Mitarashi Anko and Ibiki Morino, tipped off by genin Uzumaki Naruto. He is currently being interrogated in ANBU headquarters"

"Good. Inform me of the results"

"Hai."

Finishing his report, the ANBU vanished, leaving the aged Hokage to his thoughts. But what he didn't see was something that would have probably scared him. The face still had it's gentle look, but the eyes now held a burning fire. He had decided, cursing himself for all his failings, to at least make amends and to make sure that this village would stand.

_(01:45, Uzumaki residence)_

A loud curse was heard from the interior of the now well maintained apartment that belonged to Uzumaki Naruto. If one would have come here several months ago, he would have seen a rundown place, which was barely livable. Now however, protected by his ever-growing knowledge of seals, and refurbished from his mission paychecks, the apartment had become a comfortable place to live. Currently, Naruto was sitting in his favorite place, on the small platform next to the window, reading his book on seals, while occasionally looking outside. He had dropped most of his clothes, sitting in his boxers. The lack of clothes once more revealed his seal-covered arms, looking more like tattoos than anything else. The boy's face was troubled as he turned to the book.

"It's weird" he spoke to no one in particular "It all makes perfect sense" he continued, while flipping another page, before taking a small sip of sake. Lately, sake had become one of his pleasures in life. Having someone filter out all the side effects out of your system and leave you with just the good taste helped.

"But why can I follow someone's personal research notes so easily?" he whispered again.

"It's like he thinks the same way I do. 'MN', there's only one person who that could be. But why the hell would these obscure notes make so much sense?"

His thoughts were suddenly broken by a knock on his door. _'Now who could that be?'_

Placing the book back to it's place and dressing in a house robe, he went over to the door and opened it to reveal a tired-looking Anko.

"Hey gaki, I just saw the lights on, so I thought I'd drop by "

Naruto smiled at her comment

"Sure, come in" he quickly ushered her into the apartment before closing the door. He quietly noted the few traces of blood on her skirt and sleeves "Make yourself at home" he quietly added before going to the kitchen.

Anko sat down on the couch. While she had known where Naruto lived for a while now, she never actually came here. Tonight though, she felt tired, and she needed the company. Her musings on the apartment's decorations were broken by a voice coming from the kitchen

"Tea or sake?" Naruto asked, a short 'clang' following his question.

"Sake" she quickly answered, getting up and tracing her fingers across the several book-covered shelves reading the titles. Chakra control, seal theory, ninjutsu theory, herbalism, anatomy, medical theory, the books he had covered all of the subjects in what she was sure was great detail. But what attracted her attention the most was his working desk. A simple hardwood desk with multiple small shelves above it, stock full with scrolls, each of them most likely seals or notes. Next to the desk, she noticed four pots, surrounded by a thin purplish barrier, a seal beneath each. Within each of the pots was a different plant, each in perfect condition, each also missing either a branch, a few flowers or leaves. Her well trained eyes easily spotted the tools used by herbalists to prepare concoctions on the desk. She lifted her eyes for a moment to spot Naruto standing at the kitchen door with a saucer and a bottle of sake

"How long have you been there?" she asked with a tired smile

"Long enough." he said quietly. Her guard was down, he noted, and she was dead tired. Naruto may not have had years of experience, but he could tell that Anko was holding on through sheer willpower.

"Hey Anko.." he started, still uncertain what was it he wanted to say.

"Yeah?"

"You look tired" he softly commented, but she merely shrugged. '_She looks so... vulnerable_'

"How long has it been since you last slept?" he asked her again. Anko slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"It's been two days" she quietly replied.

"Idiot" he accused, but his voice held no malice "Come on" he said as he put down the sake. Anko watched him with a raised eyebrow, and her usual 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' look.

"You're sleeping here tonight" he answered her unasked question "And that's final"

Slightly pouting at the fact that a kid five years her junior had simply ordered her around, she dropped her head, following him.

"You get the bed" he explained as he brought her to his bedroom. "I'll wake you up early so you don't miss the exam"

And with those words he went towards the door. Just before he left he was stopped by Anko's voice

"Thanks" she said in a much happier tone. Naruto smiled before resigning himself to the couch. He needed the rest too. Setting up the alarm to wake him at six, he dropped to sleep

(8_:45, Gates of Training Ground 44 AKA The Forest of Death_)

Naruto enjoyed the fact that the rain had finally stopped falling late last night. What worried him were the happy smirks on the faces of the teams from Mist and Rain, happy because of the large amount of water present. He was also happy because the teams from Mist didn't recognize the sword on his back... that would have caused trouble, and thankfully they didn't hear Kabuto's comments on him. He gently stroked the handle of the blade, and noticed the curious and somewhat angry sight of a certain brown haired girl. Taking a moment to inspect her in detail with an extended field of Radiance, he came to the conclusion that she wasn't that much of a threat, but that he should still be careful. Her brown hair was tied into a pair of buns, her chinese-style shirt and black short pants allowed great mobility. He also noticed a number of storage scrolls on her. Higher quality ones actually. '_Not bad girl, but why do you seem so familiar?_' he idly thought as he waited for Anko to show up, spending his time cleaning his nails with a senbon which unnerved some of the genins. Sakura palmed her head at her teammate's antics and Sasuke once more checked his equipment. Better be safe then sorry.

Naruto decided to catch a short nap, while still keeping his senses working. He noticed Sakura talking to her friend Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji relaxing next to a tree, Sasuke who also took a nap. And of course after a while the arrival of Anko Mitarashi along with several unidentified chunin. Naruto kept his eyes closed, but was happy to see Anko in unusually high spirits. Her ear-to-ear grin struck fear in many of the genin present, the smile promising pain beyond measure.

"That woman is scary" Sasuke idly commented

"Only if you get on her bad side" Naruto replied, causing a light chuckle from the young Uchiha.

* * *

**Author's note: **Here's a bit on the seal theory I've placed here. First there are three types of seals,

Chakra seals, which deal with chakra storage and direct use, along with basic five element conversion seals and blood seals.

Barrier seals, which deal with, you guessed it barriers. Storage seals also belong here.

And the third class are Life seals, which are the most powerful and complex, and are, unlike the others, exclusively highly complex arrays. The one used on the bracers was one of the simpler ones known as the Absorption Barrier Array, which projects a temporary barrier that instead of deflecting chakra, absorbs it, purifies it and then sends it either stores it or uses it for something, in this case sends it into the body. Normal attacks will still go through though, but a living being will lose a good deal of it's chakra, a part of which is simply burned off, damaging the being.

The Shiki Fuin (Reaper Death Seal) used on Naruto is one of the most complex, while the Cursed Seal used by Orochimaru is somewhere in between. Removing Life seals is far harder that ordinary ones.

I would also ask for the people who write reviews to write a bit more than "It's good" "Nice chapter" "Update soon" and the like. While I don't mind the attention, the reviews are there to help out authors, so I would ask you to please point out what you did or didn't like, instead of writing a short, one-sentence review. Anyway, R&R folks. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I"ll be slowing down my writing in the coming days and weeks due to my upcoming exams (must study....), so updates won't be as often unfortunately


	5. The Chunin Exams : The Forest of Death

**Author's Ramblings:** I am proud to announce that this story has had 10 000 hits so far and nearly five thousand visitors. Much to my surprise this has gone much better than expected, and I seriously enjoy writing this stuff (well, except for the writer blocks... those stink) Anyho, first the replies to some of the reviews before you get to the real thing (skip if you're not interested)

Before you start reading the reviews comments, I apologize if I misspelled someone's name. Inform me via message and I'll patch it up as soon as I read it. Thanks for reading and reviewing

**Answers to Reviews:**

Cain Raiser – Although I was tempted to write more on the subject, I wanted to depict Anko as someone similar to Naruto. The mask worn on the outside has nothing with the real inside. To the others she's a tough as nails sadistic bitch, but to those that come close enough to her, she's vulnerable. She dropped by Naruto's place mostly because she needed company. As a fellow author pointed out, it's not exactly pleasant to return to an empty home day after day. The sleepover is something spontaneous, a simple gesture of friendship and care

Whatever Star – To be perfectly honest, dialogues aren't really my strong point. Improving on those is one of the reasons I started writing. I'll mostly cut down on the theory and keep to the descriptions and dialogues from this chapter onwards. And for Anko and Naruto it was intentional. For the exams, blame my writing skills and alcohol :P

GRIMXREAPER – the ages are 13/ 18 you figure out which is which :P And yes, I am going with the old enough to kill, old enough to drink, have sex, and the like

To the person who didn't leave a name on their review

While a part of your comment was deserved, I only _asked_ that people put a bit more.. Perhaps I should have put it more politely, but the point isn't in that. I asked for more detailed reviews because I believe it's the best way for me to improve my skills by focusing on what I messed up. The review by Whatever Star did just that. The other purpose is for the readers to point out parts that they liked. The end result is that readers get more material that they enjoy reading, and my writing skills improve, bringing about improvement on the first effect. As for empathy, I'm only human, I make mistakes, but for curtsey, isn't it the basis to at least leave a name?

matrice – the bracer idea wasn't actually inspired by Samehada, but now that you mention it it does look like it :P Oh well... also I keep the character non-confrontational except when necessary. As for Tenten → weapon fanatic + doesn't know Naruto as anything more than the class failure + Naruto has big pointy object reminiscent of a sword = Trouble :P

Roe McLelen – thanks for the heads up on the error. As for god stories ,it's somewhat silly (although highly entertaining) to see Naruto kill say, Orochimaru with a rusty spoon :P I love details, but I prefer to keep characters and readers in the dark while still giving enough description to keep them entertained. And as for the romp in the forest, it can and probably will be arranged (Hey, it's Anko and Naruto, what the heck do you expect?) :P

crossxavier – thanks for the rather friendly review. I don't like bashing characters, but it can be fun to read. The first kill or kills as it were are a crucial point in a ninja's carrier. As such it makes sense to take time to describe it properly, no?

As for flashy killing, what's the point of being a damn ninja if you can't kill without attracting attention? Of course, pure ninjutsu matches will happen sooner or later, but I prefer to avoid battles which turn into a pissing contest (whose jutsu has a fancier name 'shudders')

And finally, I"m keeping the last seal a secret for a while. I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure which one I'm picking yet.

KageNoKaosu – Thank you for the compliments, and the kind wishes. I hope my writing only improves and continues to deliver enjoyable material

* * *

_Chapter 5: The Chunin Exams : The Forest of Death_

The scene was far from pleasant. The crowd of genin tensed at the arrival of the proctor, Mitarashi Anko. That is _most_ genin tensed. Naruto did his best not to laugh his ass off at the sight of the cowering genin as Anko proceeded to explain the myriad ways in which they could die in the Forest. For a moment he could have sworn she was doing it for his entertainment.

Once she finally completed the descriptions, one of the chunin with her brought up a large stack of paper

"Okay kiddies, welcome to the second part of the Chunin exams. This part is a survival test. You have five days to reach the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death. But..." she trailed off, letting the tension grow "You have to bring a pair of scrolls like these. The Heaven and Earth scrolls. Each team gets one of these two, either Heaven or Earth, and you won't know which team gets which. So, five days to get there with two scrolls, and should you have less than three team members or open the scrolls you're disqualified"

"Five days?" cried an indignant rock ninja

"What 'crunch' about food?" asked Chouji, munching on his favorite barbeque flavored chips

"Most of the wildlife is edible. That's why it's called survival" Anko explained, her smirk never leaving her face. Naruto almost laughed when Ino smacked Chouji on the head for being an 'idiot' as she put it, not considering for a second that food was actually quite a problem in missions such as these.

"Do we have a plan?" Sasuke whispered the question, never moving from his spot beneath the tree.

"Nothing for now, but I think we should set up traps near the tower and take the others out there"

"Not a bad idea dobe."

Naruto returned to his nap waiting for the chunin to reach his team. He once more considered his training with the fox. The style and sword skills he learned were excellent, but what was really important now was the ability to control the demonic chakra from his seal. Gaara was like him, except for the fact that he was somewhat psychotic.

"Sasuke" he added drawing the raven-haired teen's attention. Naruto never called him by name unless it was important

"Yeah?"

"We should avoid the sand team" he said with a tone of finality, and while Sasuke believed him, he was still irritated by the fact that Naruto rarely shared his info.

"What, the redhead got you spooked?" he asked in a more arrogant tone. Naruto immediately turned towards him, glaring. Sasuke didn't get the chance to react as he was faced by to ice cold blue eyes glaring daggers.

"They are dangerous" he shortly explained in a clot tone before dropping the subject. Sasuke shuddered at his voice, but accepted. The crazy blonde knew his stuff. The chunin stuck wit paper duty soon passed the two of them by and passed two forms

"Death waivers?" Naruto read out loud, ans started to laugh, while those around him threw worried and scared looks at him

On the other side of the clearing, right next to the fence, Anko listened to Naruto's laughter, and grinned. Oh, she was certainly going to watch the events from the observation room in the tower. _'Whoever placed those concealed cameras was a genius, this is going to be fun'_

Listening to the growing noise of genin speaking to each other finally got her irritated

"Pipe down brats. Get those papers signed and exchange them for a scroll so we can get started"

Quietly obeying the orders of the scary woman, the genin quickly signed the waivers and went in teams of three to a small tent to get their scroll. The interior of the tent was perfectly covered, making it impossible to tell which team got which scroll.

Team 7 walked over to one of the gates, namely gate 41. As Naruto soon found out, the term 'gate' was used rather liberally to describe the entrance. It was a simple section of the fence with a small metal plate, a red '41' painted on it.

Naruto turned to his two teammates. Sakura in particular had grown during the past month or so. While she was still infatuated with Sasuke, she had by now focused on her training, and the improvement was quickly visible. Sasuke still wanted to kill his brother, that much was obvious, but had shed most of his holier-than-thou personality, or as some would put it, got the stick out of his ass. Quite a few people still tried to break what they thought was a genjutsu when they saw him laughing or smiling. What also surprised him was the fact that Sasuke, of all people, had an appreciation for his pranks.

Although he rarely puled them these days, he would still do something now and then as a token of appreciation for his friends. He still fondly remembered painting the Hokage monument and the utter failure of a full squad of ANBU operatives to catch him afterward. Perhaps he could do something like that again?

Shuddering as he felt a chakra spike, he turned to notice a flare rising from the main gate. Team 7 jumped over the fence.

The second phase of the chunin exam had begun.

Sakura Haruno was having a surprisingly good day, all things considered. First, she got up early, avoiding the annoyance that was her alarm clock, while also managing a warm shower and breakfast. Second, thanks to her recent training along with some help from her mother, who was a former ninja, she managed to prepare herself to the best of her ability for the coming test. Now, she was certain that she would not be a burden to her teammates, and perhaps finally catch Sasuke-kun's attention.

What Sakura didn't know, was that her day was just about to get worse as she entered the Forest of Death.

Within the tower at the center of the forest, lies the Observation room. Currently inside, was a collection of jounin-sensei gathered to observe their pupils as they perform. With them were a number of ANBU operatives, along with the two proctors so far, Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi, whose presence instilled a bit of fear into the others. Apart from the Konoha nin, all others kept a safe distance, for Anko was not feared without reason. Although she didn't reach full jounin rank, her assassination and infiltration skills, along with torture and interrogation were trained by the two most capable minds that Konoha produced: Orochimaru, the snake sannin and Ibiki Morino, mental torturer extraordinaire. Add to that the fact that she was quite talented, and you got one tough-as-nails kunoichi. Said kunoichi was now eating a bowl of popcorn and holding another bowl filled with money. Why you ask?

"1000 on Gai's team"

"500 on the sand siblings"

"250 on Kurenai's team"

And so on. The betting continued until most of the jounin had made a bet, all the while, not a single person stopped watching the screens that displayed various parts of the forest. One such screen displayed the first battle during the exam...

On the eastern side of the forest, somewhere in between the tower and the fence wall, members of team 10 cursed their luck. Shikamaru was busy dodging a rain of senbon needles aimed at his vitals.

_'Why did we have to end up fighting such troublesome opponents?' _thought the lazy Nara, as he tried to come up with a plan to defeat their three opponents. He noted his lightly wounded friends Chouji and Ino who were just behind him

"Any ideas Shika?" Chouji grunted, pulling out a senbon from his arm. Ino parried a kunai send for the back of Shikamaru's head

"Come up with something while we're still alive, will you?" she quickly added, not taking her sights from her opponent

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it" Shikamaru added indignantly. He quickly checked his kunai pouch '_That should be just enough_'

"Ino, distract the guy with the weird mask, Chouji, you're with me. Move!"

The team instantly scattered.

_(With Ino)_

"Over here you idiot!" she yelled at the masked Rain ninja. His response was to make four clones and charge her.

"Will you die already girl?" the nin asked, his two clones charging in while the two others jumped from above.

_'Shit, those are clones, but where is the real one? Not above, not in front, to the sides?' _she quickly checked both '_Crap, the back_'

Turning at the last moment, she managed to avoid being skewered through the chest, but was still cut on the shoulder. Hissing angrily, she managed to slam the butt of her kunai between the mist nin's shoulder and neck, accidentally hitting a nerve, knocking him out. She thanked Kami for her luck.. After quickly searching him, she didn't find a scroll. Recomposing herself, she turned back to her friends, and ran to join them

_(With Shikamaru and Chouji)_

The pair stood back to back, barely managing to avoid the enemies attacks.

"Ready pal?" Shikamaru asked, once more fending off a kunai trying to slash his throat. His enemy was skilled, bu nothing special. He fought worse

"Right behind ya" Chouji answered. Suddenly, a small explosion was heard as a cloud of smoke enveloped them both, hiding them from the sight of the two, now separate enemies.

"Aiza,can you see anything?" one of them asked. He was met with silence

"Aiza? You there?" he asked again. Nothing

"She won't be answering any time soon." Came a calm voice as a shadow streaked out of the cloud, running towards him along the ground. Loudly cursing, he tried to dodge the shadow, but was too slow

"Shadow possession jutsu, success. Now Chouji!"

The last sight the rain nin managed to see was an enlarged fist heading his way. After that the world turned to blissful darkness.

_(Back at the tower)_

"Not bad Asuma, those brats of yours seem to know what they're doing" Anko commented on the performance of team ten. "They even got both scrolls. But they didn't tie up the nin nor did they gather any equipment apart from the scroll."

Asuma merely drew a smoke from his cigar, trying his best to ignore a glaring Kurenai on his right. That woman would be the death of him.

"Hey look." one of the jounin pointed towards a screen showing the southern part of the forest.

"Another fight" Kakashi idly commented, skilfully hiding a smirk at the fact that it was his team down there fighting. Anko made another mischievous grin, recognizing Naruto. This was going to be fun

_(Southern region of the Forest of Death, with Team 7)_

"I still don't get how those idiots became genin_" _Naruto whispered to Sakura as the three of them spied on a genin team from the new village, Sound. Naruto vaguely remembered that there were two teams from that village in the exams, and this seemed to be the weaker one. The three male ninja walked cautiously, but their guard was down. They didn't notice their chakra signature.

"Okay, sit back and watch. You two got the last two teams, this one is mine" Naruto gleefully said to his teammates. The two looked at him and merely shook their heads.

"Showoff" Sasuke muttered, while Sakura merely nodded. Naruto promptly ignored the comments, preparing three senbon needles and closing his eyes.

"**Ninja art: Hidden Mist jutsu**" he whispered, molding his chakra as a thick blanket of fog descended on the forest around him. Naruto found that he very much enjoyed using Zabuza's silent killing technique. Unbuttoning his trenchcoat for improved mobility and padding his feet with a thin cushion on chakra, he silently glided through the mist.

The sound nin on the other hand were panicking. None of them could see further than the man next to them through the chakra-infused mist, not that they noticed the small detail. The leader of the group recovered first, and set them up in a triangle formation, each at the others back, trying to leave as little space for their invisible enemy to attack unnoticed.

Naruto grinned, standing in a stance that was eerily reminiscent of Zabuza Momochi, eyes closed. Not wanting to risk failure, he took his three senbon needles and coated them with a small amount of paralyzing poison. He studied the three nin for a few seconds while waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The 'leader' as he labeled him, was also the tallest of the three. He had a somewhat faulty stance, leaving a few openings for him to use. The others were even worse. Naruto smirked at the fact that he could probably take them down like Haku did Sasuke back at the bridge, his studies of anatomy brought on many benefits.

He picked up a small pebble and threw it to the opposite side from the one he wanted to attack from, idly wondering if this small distraction would work. To his glee, it did, causing the three to momentarily turn their heads towards the source of the sound. Using the momentary distraction, he threw two of the three senbon, each hitting a pressure point on his targets' necks, knocking them out. The third followed only a split-second later, tacking down the third target. Before they hit the ground, Naruto rushed in and took out the senbon. The strikes and the poison would keep them out for at least a few hours. He really didn't plan on leaving any evidence of his skills unless he absolutely had to. The less his enemies knew the better.. Buttoning up his coat again he released the jutsu, the area quickly clearing up.

Sasuke and Sakura watched in awe as their teammate stood above the three unmoving bodies of the sound nin, not a single scratch on him. He triumphantly held up a single scroll, marked 'Heaven'

"Looks like our job here is done."

"Are they... dead?" she asked, her tone a mixture of curiosity and slight fear. Unlike her two companions, Sakura still wasn't completely used to killing.

"No, just out cold" he muttered quietly "Let's get going. We really don't want to get caught now"

_(Back at the tower)_

Utter silence permeated the room as all present except for Anko and Kakashi starred at the screen. One moment there was a team of sound ninja on the screen. The next, a cloud of mist covered the small clearing, followed within seconds by the sounds of three bodies falling to the ground beneath them. And finally the mist lifted to reveal Naruto Uzumaki standing on top of them, all three dead or unconscious, unclear which one it was due to the lack of blood or visible wounds on their bodies.

"What have you been teaching that boy Kakashi?" Kurenai asked after she brought herself back form her shock.

"I only gave him ideas and suggestions." he quickly answered, so that only she could hear, his smirk now visible beneath his mask. Anko only stopped smiling to put some popcorn into her mouth, and Ibiki was no better, the disturbing smile on them both worrying all but few.

Her entertainment, however was interrupted by the arrival of an ANBU operative

"Anko-san, there is something you should see" he whispered to her, instantly gaining her attention

"Lead the way" she replied, following the masked man.

Back in the forest, night was finally falling, the sounds of day replaced by owls, crickets and wolves. In the small clearing around the stream where they now were, the full moon above them was clearly visible, it's pale light illuminating the area. The members of team 7 had set up camp near the stream, the area now covered with various well hidden traps, courtesy of Naruto and Sakura while Sasuke had prepared camp. Naruto was quite surprised and amazed at the traps Sakura had in mind, and some that she didn't know how to make, but he was more than capable

"Never would have pegged you as someone good with traps" he chuckled, while Sakura smiled at the compliment

"It's not really that hard I guess." she humbly replied,

"Not hard?" he stared in disbelief "Some of the stuff is crazier than the things I came up with to protect my apartment, and I spent days on those. You're good, but just lack some practical experience." he explained, careful not to overly praise her as he set up the last of the traps. Heaven help whomever tries to go through here.

Back at the small campsite, Sasuke had brought out three sleeping bags and started preparing some of the food that Naruto had unsealed. Unlike the other two, thanks to the fact that he spent the last few years growing up alone, Sasuke was forced to learn how to prepare his own meals, and he took to cooking quite well. The small fire that he made gave off no smoke, a detail he remembered from survival training, and the small pot of stew boiling in it gave of a weak scent. The food was strong and nutritious, and surprisingly very tasty. The trio never let their guard down as they ate and chatted before Sasuke and Naruto dropped to sleep, leaving Sakura to cover the first watch.

_(Eight hours later)_

"Wake up dobe, it's time for your shift" Sasuke not-so-gently nudged Naruto in the ribs. The blond groaned and got up. Years of practice made him a _very_ light sleeper, the threat of an assassin or a mob made it rather easy.

Muttering curses under his breath, Naruto crawled out of his sleeping bag. He was used to sleeping in his clothes, so there was little harm done. He put on his red coat, buttoned it up and took his watch.

Quickly summoning ten shadow clones, and promptly henging them into various form of wildlife after placing them in strategic positions around the camp, Naruto quietly sat down, unsealed a small scroll containing notes on a jutsu he was studying along with a small canteen and started reading.

It was only a few hours until dawn. Only a few hours before they would start again and head straight for the tower, but for some reason, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that something would go wrong. He turned his face to his teammates. Sakura was still asleep, but Sasuke was feigning.

"Can't sleep?" he quietly asked, already expecting the answer

"Yeah" Sasuke shortly replied. Ever since Naruto caught him during one of his nightmares, shivering, covered by cold sweat, he couldn't forget the look he saw in the boy's eyes. Fear. And he knew that there was only one person in the world who could do that to him, his brother, Itachi

"What does it feel like?" Naruto asked in a kind voice "To have a family?"

Sasuke, who in the mean time got up and sat against a nearby tree watched him, his sullen black eyes revealing a mixture of emotions. Naruto watched him curiously, wondering what was going through the boy's head at the time.

"Safe" he shortly said, but Naruto waited, knowing that he wasn't done "Loved, cared for. I'm not sure how to put it into words"

Both smiled, and silence once more reigned over the small camp. It had been enough for the moment, as the two of them returned to watching the stars.

"Hey Naruto" he started, getting the blond boy's attention "why do the grownups hate you so much?"

Naruto tensed over instantly before Sasuke continued ins a serious voice

"I heard when they called you demon brat, monster and quite a few other things. Does it have anything to do with...?" he trailed off, not really sure he wanted to say the whole thought out loud. Sighing sadly, Naruto got up and walked over to him

"Come on. I'll tell you everything, but not here. This is for your ears only" Sasuke nodded, and followed Naruto to the stream, away from a sleeping Sakura. Motioning for both of them to sit down, Naruto quickly drew out a small seal paper, an intricate seal painted over it. Pulsing a small amount of chakra, an invisible dome spread over them.

"Privacy seal" Naruto quickly explained to a somewhat bewildered Sasuke. Taking a deep breath, Naruto started

"Before I tell you anything, you should know that all I say here is a S-ranked secret, that will get you executed should you reveal it without my or the Hokage's permission, understand? Nothing leaves here"

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Tell me, what do you know of the Kyuubi no Yoko?" he asked in a completely serious tone.

"You mean the demon that attacked Konoha fourteen years ago? The one the Yondaime killed?"

"Yes... and no" Naruto said, drawing a curious glance from the raven-hired boy.

"Kyuubi, and any other of the tailed beasts cannot be killed by mortal means. So, Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage settled for the next best option and sealed the fox inside a living container, a newborn baby"

"You" Sasuke quietly stated

"Yes, me. And that's why they hate me, why I was beaten up more times than I care to count, why I they tried to kill me, why I was insulted, glared at, isolated." Naruto quieted down, his eyes downcast. He failed to notice the sad smile that spread over the last Uchiha's face

"Man..." he started, drawing out the 'a' "And I thought I had it bad"

"Stinks, doesn't it?" Naruto added, a small smile crossing his lips as well.

"Yeah" the other chuckled. The conversation brought back unpleasant memories to Sasuke, especially of the night when his brother... had killed all of his family, his entire clan. But what exactly had his brother done to him? Yes, he had left him alone, yes, he had showed him the murders of his family. The fear of those events had receded over the years, even if the nightmares still came occasionally. He was treated like royalty by the council and by most of the village. He had everyone's acceptance, everyone's adoration. And what did his blonde friend have? None of it, and for reasons beyond his control. Naruto Uzumaki was Sasuke's first friend, and a man he knew he could entrust his life to. He remembered the day he first met him, when they were going home from school. His brother couldn't come, so since they were going the same way for a while, they spent the whole time arguing. He remembered how Naruto visited him the day after his family's funeral, how he tried his best to cheer him up even a bit. He would never admit it, but he managed to do it. Since they were placed in team 7 they were rivals, always competing to show each other up. That rivalry had vanished as Naruto matured after their mission to Wave. Turning his observations to himself he realized that he had changed as well. His two greatest objectives in life were to find and kill his brother and to restore his clan. But was his first goal really worth it? Naruto never returned the hatred they had for him, at first he wanted their approval, but now he simply ignored them. He would have to think about it more.

Naruto had already turned off the privacy seal and went back to his scroll, still reading while Sasuke went back to sleep. He still had the better part of two hours to rest, and he didn't want to miss it.

Naruto however, wasn't studying his scroll. His thoughts returned to the conversations he had with Kyu.

"**Getting nostalgic are we?"**

'_Something like that. It's been a while since we sat down and talked seriously_' Naruto thought back to his tenant

"**There really isn't much to talk about these days. Although we could start that new training if you're interested..." **Kyu trailed off, the thought of _that_ training sending a shiver up Naruto's spine

**'**_After the exam, okay? I'd prefer to be alive for them_**'**

The fox chuckled at Naruto's comment. Kyu very much enjoyed messing with him. Deciding it was better to focus on his studies while he still had the time, Naruto one more focused on the complicated theory behind a new jutsu he was studying.

Anko stared in horror at the three corpses before her. The three grass ninja were dead from poison and their faces were peeled off, completely gone. She cringed, realizing that there was only one person capable of doing this.

"Hawk, find the Hokage and tell him that Orochimaru is here. Also, get me an ANBU tracker team here, that bastard is inside the forest and on the move."

"Hai" 'Hawk' answered before vanishing in search of the Hokage.

"Damn it" Anko angrily whispered "Why did you come back now you bastard?"

Naruto flinched as one of his perimeter guards dispelled himself to bring him information.

_'A single grass nin moving at high speed, chakra signature reminiscent of Anko, suppressed to chunin levels. Scent of snakes.'_

All of the thoughts that currently raced through his mind were brilliantly summed in one word

"Shit"

He rushed over so Sasuke and Sakura, but the two of them were still asleep. A second later, he and two of is clones carrying them vacated the clearing, heading straight for the tower. As they kept jumping, the two sleeping bundles awoke

"Ughhh...Naruto? What the hell is going on?" Sakura asked still a bit groggy from her sleep. Naruto was completely focused on his current task, which was getting as far away as humanly possible from the scary chakra signature behind him

"Unknown enemy with suppressed chakra brought to chunin levels. Most likely works for Orochimaru" he quickly explained "And he's after one or all of us" the last comment brought them all up. Everyone knew just who Orochimaru was. And that he meant trouble. They started moving on their own, while the two clones, joined by one other went back henged to draw attention and buy time

The three nin rushed as fast as they could towards the tower. Sasuke kept his Sharingan active even as he focused chakra into his legs to move faster. The plan and formation were simple. Get to the tower as fast as humanly possible. Naruto went in the back, with Sakura in the middle and Sasuke in the front.

Naruto was nervous and scared. Orochimaru had sent someone after them either for Sasuke's Sharingan or for Kyuubi. Sakura was probably of no interest, but would end up being used as bait. None of the three possibilities sounded attractive, so the best option was to run.

But the bastard, whoever it was was gaining on them. The clone that dispelled had only gotten the shape through Radiance without seeing the nin. And what scared him additionally was that there was something wrong about the body. It wasn't a henge, more like someone had an extra layer over his body.

_'Think idiot, what did Anko say about Orochimaru's special techniques?' _he tried to remember, but wasn't fortunate enough, as the signature suddenly disappeared from behind him and appeared right in front of them.

Naruto's face paled. Sasuke noticed this, and was worried as well. Sakura was nervous herself, because whatever spooked Naruto Uzumaki was most likely dangerous. He stopped, and both of his companions stopped with him

"What happened?" Sakura asked, but Naruto didn't reply. He simply pointed towards a small clearing in front of them where a woman with a large straw hat was _waiting_.

"Troublesome" Sasuke quoted the lazy Nara.

On the other side of the clearing a certain person stood perfectly calm, studying the small team before him. He was greatly annoyed by the failings of his servant Kabuto, his capture had set his plans back considerably, but he didn't stop them. Orochimaru was no fool, in fact he was one of the smartest shinobi ever to come out of the Hidden Leaf. The three before him were interesting. The reports he had on the team reminded him of his own when he was a genin, but things had apparently changed. The girl, Sakura Haruno was of little consequence, but the two boys were more than entertaining.

The Kyuubi brat had a weak chakra signature, but the sword on his back was the Kubikiri Houcho, and he ran with that thing on his back without any problems. Kabuto's report had delivered the fact that the boy pulled a solo A-ranked mission, that he was proficient with seals. And while he found all that interesting _and_ important, that boy was not his target now, and he seriously doubted that the fox inside would allow him to take over the boy's body, regardless of how good it may be. The one that interested him the most was Uchiha Sasuke, the last of his family still loyal to Konoha. The boy was reasonably pathetic, but his eyes would be of so much use to him...

'_What do you think Kyu? That definitely isn't a genin_' Naruto asked his tenant, hoping for some advice, as he was at wit's end as to what to do.

"**More like a... oh shit**" the old fox cursed

'_I get it, we're mostly screwed, what else it new?_' he made a mental sigh

"**That isn't a genin, I recognize his scent"**

Naruto considered what Kyu could have meant by that, but he came up with a blank

Anko, backed up by a team of ANBU trackers was rushing as fast as she could through the forest, hoping to reach and stop her former sensei before more people died. Her companions shivered at the emotions that flared from her. Rage, sadness, loss, and finally complete and utter hatred. If they didn't know better, they would pity the poor bastard. But what they didn't realize was that there was one more emotion. Fear of loss.

"**That kit, is Orochimaru"**

After a while, Naruto Uzumaki had stopped counting the number of ways this day had gone wrong. He didn't dare ask the proverbial question('Can this day possibly get any worse?'), for fear that it would actually happen. He was afraid of the snake sannin, but it wasn't a paralyzing fear. All of his survival instincts had kicked in and his mind was working overtime to find a way out of the situation.

His mind came to a screeching halt when the nin focused his eyes into theirs.

In a moment, he felt himself _die._ A single kunai blade had cut his jugular artery, the blood seeping out like mad, and the poison acting... and then it stopped. He silently cursed..._ genjutsu. _The others were shaken as well, but he was the luckiest.

"My, my, looks like I caught a little fox" the grass nin said in a joking tone, an obvious edge concealed beneath the surface. Finally calming down, Naruto hoped that he could buy some time. From what Anko told him, Orochimaru was arrogant, he would most likely fail to see any of them as a threat, and his chakra was suppressed. A sneak attack perhaps?

"I never figured the _great_ Orochimaru for a poacher" Naruto said in a mocking tone, his will barely holding together.. His foe chuckled

"You saw through my little disguise. I'm impressed. And you even have a sense of humor" the other replied, a single hand placed to his chest in mock surprise "That will make hunting you all the more entertaining"

They all tensed as the nin took a step forward and started flashing through handseals

_'Here it comes' _Naruto idly thought is his day got even worse

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay, this was a shorter chapter than usual, but I wanted to avoid putting the battle with Orochimaru here if I didn't have to. It'll take all of my concentration to write the Snake Sannin believably evil and I don't want to keep you people waiting for an update

Apart from that I have little to add

Oh, and to avoid confusion, I added the comment about Orochimaru's special techniques as a reference to one of the conversations between Anko and Naruto. Bummer he couldn't remember, ne? :P


	6. The Chunin Exams : Hunter and Hunted

**Author's Ramblings:** Well that was interesting. One day after posting and a whole bunch of people visited... anyho, I'm sorry for the delay here, but the Belgrade Beer Fest combined with the rapidly approaching exams didn't leave enough time for writing.

**I would like to announce that as of this chapter I have a beta. Namely **_**Kyuubi no Shinigami**_

**My deepest gratitude for patching up the numerous eh... errors I made :D**

Oh yes, and to quote several other intelligent specimens of man : Flames will be used for my personal entertainment (read, for making barbeque) ;)

Also, I'd like to point out a few things. Sakura was pointed out in the manga as being book-smart, but she isn't stupid otherwise, and I have no intention of making her. This will probably be the first show of her skills, even if it is quite bad (she's better than she is here, but she relies more on genjutsu than ninjutsu because of her low chakra levels.). Sasuke will also have his first real battle here.

And as you all know, it's fun leaving cliffhangers :D Now for the truth, I was way too tired and/or drunk to write a good battle scene :D

Also, someone asked me about replying to reviews in the story. I have so far heard no complaints to that, and have noticed that some authors do that as well, I keep it here so that I can easily reply to questions.

**Replies to Reviews :**

Whatever Star : To be honest I seriously don't remember any rules on the account of posting replies in here. Also, I mostly cut down on overly long explanations, and will most likely in the future put up a sign where long pieces of theory drop in so that those that don't care for such can avoid them. And I've pointed out on Sakura's improvement, although the biggest show will be in the preliminaries in the next chapter

matrice : As I believe I've previously said, my version of Naruto prefers to keep his fights as short as possible whenever he isn't forced to fight. As such the hidden mist jutsu does wonders :P and here's of course the fight with Orochimaru... as for Jiraya, I have a few things in plan... just wait and see. Oh, and I found it... strange, that no one but Jiraya managed to figure out the screwed up seal before. Still, I am a bit disappointed in the manga,

RikodouSennin : Thanks for the compliments. As for knowing about the invasion, who said that Kabuto knew? Orochimaru _is_ a manipulative bastard who likes to keep his pawns under control...

OkamiAlucard : Thanks for the suggestion, I'll do my best to work on it and try and improve. I've got a beta as of now and he's checking everything... and I'm checking up and fixing the older chapters.

Balatros : I have no intention to make Naruto super powerful yet, although keep in mind that a jounin level ninja is still a joke compared to the forces of Akatsuki who are all S-ranked kage-level ninja, and that Naruto's greatest strength is his insane adaptation ability. With good teachers and his drive, Naruto more than likely has the potential to become damn good at whatever he does :P

deadw8 : As I am the almighty author such an act is within my power. Bsing aside, no, Naruto won't be stuck with a cursed seal :P

* * *

_Chapter 6: The Chunin Exams : Hunter and Hunted_

The members of team 7 tensed up as Orochimaru started going towards them, hands flashing through hand seals, a sinister smile crossing his lips.

(_Naruto_)

"Scatter!" Naruto shouted as Orochimaru brought his hand to his lips and exhaled a large wave of fire. Naruto cursed at the fact that he was separated from his friends, but there wasn't enough time to think of such things. His eyes widened when he saw Orochimaru bite his thumb and smear blood on a set of tattoo's on his arm, followed by a series of quick handseals. The horrifying thing was that his,no, their enemy kept perfectly silent, a dark predator stalking his pray, gauging it's skills, enjoying the sensation of the hunt and their fear and desperation. Naruto was painfully aware that this enemy was far beyond his skills, the only way to buy them time would be to trick him somehow, but that wouldn't be easy, as the clearing was covered with smoke.

"**Oh shit, a summoning jutsu**"Kyu rather bluntly explained. Naruto's reaction was delayed for just a split-second, but that was more than enough for the massive sneak to leap from the cloud of smoke and tried to swallow the unfortunate blond. Luckily, he had just enough time to dodge. Swiped on the side by the massive serpent's scales, Naruto clutched his right arm, the numerous small cuts healing quickly, but most blocked by his bracers. '_So much for my coat. Thank Kami I decided to test these bracers_'

He dodged the swiping tail of the great snake,and leaped to avoid it's bite. Orochimaru was nowhere in sight, but he could feel his chakra signature going towards what he was certain was Sasuke _'So that's what you're here for'_

But, sadly enough the gigantic snake had no intention of letting him help his friend. Growling, he summoned three Shadow clones, while the snake brushed his other side, it's sharp scales ripping through his coat and skin. But now, the scowl was replaced with a smirk, as all four instances of Naruto channeled massive amount of chakra into their blades, the shells shredding the bandage-like cloth, before stabbing said swords into the body of the snake, unleashing all the built up energy into it's innards, completely obliterating it from within.. The drain dispelled the clones, and Naruto used his limited knowledge of medical jutsu to fix up the wounds a bit, letting his healing factor take care of the rest.

"Now where did the other snake go?" he wondered as he panted, trying to find any of the familiar chakra signatures, and smiled when he sensed a strong group heading his way. Jumping up to a nearby tree and heading of towards where he sensed Sakura and Sasuke, he once more focused his senses and prayed he would be on time.

_(Sakura)_

The pink haired girl loudly swore as she kept dodging blow after blow from a pair of clones of Orochimaru. She had been separated from both Naruto and Sasuke. The two waved their kunai, raining blows aimed at her chest, neck and head. Numerous cuts covered the girl's arms. Sakura appraised her options. Her genjutsu was utterly useless against them, she knew better than to even try. _'Ninjutsu? They're clones, they should be weaker than the real thing, right?'_

"What's the matter little girl? You're not afraid, are you?" the clone taunted a he swiped at her once more, Sakura deftly dodged the blow

"Perhaps we should just kill you and go play with Sasuke-_kun_" the other taunted, getting a rise from her. _'Think dammit, what did Kakashi-sensei say about fighting stronger enemies? What did Naruto say?'_

She made a small smile as she remembered the blond's words. She had prepared. Pulling out four of the prepared kunai from her belt, she prepared for her plan. She knew only a few water jutsu, as per her affinity, but that would have to do the trick, there was still enough water and moisture from the rain. She jumped back from the two clones, who instantly followed. She threw the four kunai, immediately following with hand signs.

"**Water Release: Water Bullet" **she cried, splitting the original bullet into two smaller ones, and firing them at the clones. She smirked at the clones dodged first the kunai then the bullets. She pulled the well-hidden ninja wire attached to the kunai as they spun back towards the two clones. The kunai, fitted with exploding tags, whirled around their necks, and promptly exploded, reducing them into nothing more than piles of mud. She smiled at her success and popped a chakra pill into her mouth, preparing to go after her teammates.

_(Sasuke)_

At a fair distance from the others, Sasuke Uchiha was deeply concerned for his survival. The _battle_ was not going well, or more accurately it wasn't going at all. Orochimaru was attacking and Sasuke was dodging, not even getting a chance to slip a single hit past the man's sword. He recognized the blade from the books he read: Kusanagi, the Longsword of the Heavens. A single cut from that poisonous blade could end his life, and so far, his clothes sported multiple cuts, but since they were quite loose, none of them nicked his skin.

"Just like a little rabbit, you try to escape from the one hunting you" Orochimaru chirped with a wicked grin that set fear into Sasuke's heart _'What the hell is this guy?'_

He thanked the heavens for the thick woodlands around him. Jumping from tree to tree gave his mobility a good boost as he leaped around, dodging blow after blow. Sasuke recognized the small stream as the one next to their camp

'_Sakura and Naruto had set up traps there... I could use them to my advantage_'

Rushing off towards the camp with Orochimaru in tow, he kept dodging the various jutsu-generated projectiles that Orochimaru kept sending at him. '_Just how much chakra does this maniac have?_'

The campsite was finally in sight, and Sasuke smirked as his Sharingan allowed him to identify most of the traps. Now all that was left was to pull the enemy in, and spring the traps.

Orochimaru charged in after the boy. He had already detected the traps,but was curious as to how the boy would use them. After all, it would do no good to have a weak and stupid body, now would it?

Sasuke aptly dodged the blows from various traps around him, mostly because his sharingan was able to see through them. Intentionally tripping a wire, he dodged to the right, as a massive log came crashing down, and almost hit the snake sannin, missing only because of his unnatural flexibility and years of experience. Cursing, he waited for Orochimaru to get close, before simultaneously tripping two other traps, sending a rain of kunai and senbon needles at their location, while using substitution to get out of the way. A short grin replaced his scowl when he saw Orochimaru riddled with projectiles, but that quickly faded as he collapsed into a pile of mud. The process was repeated many times, each trap deftly avoided by the older ninja, who was constantly grinning. Sasuke decided to finally spring the last set of traps at the same time, as there were only three left. Drawing Orochimaru to the small clearing next to the camp, he used his kunai to cut the two wires, while pulling the third one with his hand. Orochimaru stood still as a hailstorm of projectiles now descended on him. He grinned

The grin never faded as Orochimaru dodged kunai, shuriken, senbon needles, explosive tags, rocks, logs and even a few larger boulders, and Sasuke was sweating and panting as they stopped for a moment.

"That was entertaining" Orochimaru said in a polite tone "Let's move on to the next phase of the test"

_'Test?' _Sasukewondered but his thoughts were quickly interrupted when the snake sannin started going through handseals

"**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough**" he calmly spoke as he exhaled a blast of wind. Sasuke used chakra to hold himself to the ground, but the wind started cutting him up in many places. But he still stood. '_What the hell is he doing? He acts like he's trying to kill me, but then he chooses weaker attacks? And he did mention something about a test._'

"Not bad little Sasuke." he said with a sinister grin, flashing through hand seals again and sending a large ball of fire towards him "But you're still no match for your brother"

In that moment, Sasuke snapped. He was afraid, nervous, angry, tired, and that lat comment simply broke the dam. The fear was gone, and so was the rage. The world stood still as he felt a burning pain in his eyes.

The color from the world bled away, and two figures appeared before him. One was his brother, Itachi, the other was Naruto. Both had a sad look on their faces.

"_You will have to choose little brother" _the figure of the older Uchiha said in a kind but sad tone. Naruto simply nodded "_What is your choice? To lose yourself to your rage and desire for vengeance? To embrace your hatred of me?"_

"_Or to let it go?" _the Naruto-figure added. "_The choice is finally yours_"

Sasuke stood shocked at the situation in front of him. A moment ago, he was in the middle of a fierce battle, and now he was talking to what were probably the two most influential figures in his life.

'_To embrace the hatred or to let it go?_' he thought as the two figures stood still before him. His mind raced through his memories. The day of the massacre, the academy afterward, the time with Team 7, the crazy picture the four of them took, where he and Naruto were scowling at each other while Sakura and Kakashi were smiling. He realized something. He wasn't alone. Even if he wanted to stop his brother, he wasn't alone anymore. And he didn't have to be ever again.

_'And I called Naruto a dobe'_ he thought as a smile came to the raven-haired boy's lips.

"Thank you" he said to both figures, who in turn smiled back at him. The flood of emotions was gone, and color returned to his world. What he didn't notice was that the Sharingan of his eyes was swirling wildly, the two tomoe spliting into a third. The world started moving once more, but everything seemed slowed down to him. He easily dodged the fireball heading for him. He could actually stand and study the handseals that Orochimaru was using one by one. With a wide grin, he realized what was happening.

On the other side of the duel, Orochimaru was considering whether to be happy or annoyed. He decided to settle for the second when the boy returned the jutsu he had just sent at him. Things were definitely _not_ going according to plan. Then again, things rarely did in life. He made a smile, a downright scary construction on his face as his snake-like tongue hissed

Sasuke enjoyed watching the world in slow-motion. The pull on his chakra was hard, but now it was much easier to dodge the attacks of his enemy. He watched the shadowy form of Orochimaru perform each action a few moments before the original, giving him just enough time to react accordingly. His chakra was too low for more than a few jutsu, but he had just enough to start using the gloves that Naruto made for him, or the wakizashi. Deciding to keep the sword sheathed, he started pulling out shuriken from the seal, each charged with a small amount of lightning chakra. Orochimaru raised a curious eyebrow at the action but kept throwing his own kunai at the boy, mixing it up with a few jutsu. Now Sasuke was even more sure that Orochimaru wasn't really trying to kill him. Pulling the eight shuriken he had between his fingers, he prepared his jutsu

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Fire!**" he yelled as he launched ten small fireballs at his enemy, who smirked and blocked them with his sword.

Orochimaru cursed as he failed to notice the shuriken hidden right behind the fireballs, each passing just a moment after he shifted his guard. None of them dealt serious damage, but the small charge they all had messed a bit with his muscles. He also noticed a number of chakra signatures heading his way. While he could probably beat them, it wasn't worth the risk.

"Kukuku... looks like it's time I stopped playing around Sasuke-kun..." he said, licking his lips in the process, which sent a shiver up Sasuke's spine. Sasuke tensed as his enemy charged at him, deftly dodging the kunai he started throwing as a last resort, hoping to at least buy some time.

Naruto cursed as he ran, he could feel the others closing in, but now he could also see the damnable snake closing in on his friend. He almost tripped when he saw his neck extending and the fangs heading straight to bite the boy on the neck.

"Please let me make it on time" he quietly prayed, sending all the chakra he had into his feet. As he drew closer and closer, so did the head of the snake sannin to it's victim.

Anko, supported by a full tracker team of four ANBU was chasing after Naruto's no longer suppressed chakra signature. But what she saw made her blood freeze. Sasuke was on his back a couple of meters from Naruto, who was lifted two feet from the ground, with Orochimaru's fangs stuck in his neck. She knew what it meant _too well._

A few meters away, Sasuke was lying on the ground trying to piece together what just happened. In one moment he was starring down into Orochimaru's yellow slitted eyes as he brought his head forward to bite him. He was to exhausted to move when he felt a pull. In the next moment he was a couple of meters away from the snake sannin who was now biting _Naruto_ on the neck. He dropped the boy's unconscious body to the ground, visibly displeased, before he turned, looking somewhere behind Sasuke

"Anko-chan, it's been a while, what brings you here?" Orochimaru asked in a polite tone. Anko's blood was now boiling. That slimy bastard had messed up another life, and it was the life of someone important to her.

"I'm going to fucking kill you" she said in her sing-song voice, the emotions behind it enough to make even Orochimaru nervously twitch. Not overly fond of the idea of an unfavorable fight (for him), he decided it was a good moment to make a strategic retreat

"Although I'd love to stay and talk about old times, I really must be going" he said in a mock sad voice, dropping Naruto to the ground as he sank into the ground before Anko had a chance to reach him. The blond boy lifelessly fell to the ground before starting to shiver violently.

Sasuke who had barely recovered from the events, got up and rushed to his friend's side, joining Anko who was already there, and was soon joined by a tired Sakura. Anko was watching the area between the boy's shoulder and neck with a mixture of fear, hope and morbid curiosity as a strange seal kept trying to form, only to lose it's shape.

_(Naruto's mindscape)_

Naruto awoke to a great deal of pain as he entered the familiar plains of his mindscape. He had changed the area a long time ago, sickened by the utterly disgusting sewer. The vast plains before him where placed in an eternal twilight, the last rays of the sun giving way to the moon and stars above. He had shaped the land after the landscape from his visit to the south. In the distance glistened the golden light of the sun reflected in the ocean waters. In the distance the bluish rock of the mountains stood, cut off at the base by dense forests.

His enjoyment of the majestic landscape was interrupted by another wave of pain. He shakily got up to notice two figures standing atop a large stone dais. The first was Orochimaru, sans his usual laughter. The second was one of his first friends. A regal man with crimson hair that reached his shoulders, dressed in a formal red kimono. His face was finely chiseled, bearing a calm and gentle expression, especially compared to Orochimaru's scowl. The only things that truly gave away the man's identity were a pair of red slitted eyes. Kyuubi starred at his opponent, the two of them locked in a contest of will, each having his own plan for the boy.

"**Kit!**" Kyu loudly called "**If you would**** be so kind to get your hide over here and help me cast out this intruder from your mind and soul**"

Naruto quickly nodded and rushed over. As soon as he stepped on the stone dais, he felt the immense pressure of an alien will. But what was truly horrible were the whispers and images

He saw his home burning, _himself_ on top laughing wildly as he stabbed Kakashi through the throat.

_'Do you wish power?'_

He saw _himself_ fighting off countless enemies without any effort whatsoever, his face skin and covered by strange black markings

"_Do you wish for your revenge on the weaklings who abused you?"_

He saw the mobs that once tormented him brutally slaughtered by _his_ hand.

"_Power beyond your imagination, beyond your wildest dreams, and all you have to do is accept it"_

The voice kept beckoning, and he felt the pressure lessen in the moment he considered that option.

But as he thought of it another set of images came over

He saw Sakura crying over his shivering body, joined by a very worried and sad Anko, and Sasuke who kept yelling at him to wake up, his fear and sadness also obvious.

He saw the moment of Haku's death on the bridge, the broken visage of Zabuza Momochi as he looked at who he wished could have been his son.

He saw Iruka's smile when he placed his old hitai-ate over his forhead.

He saw what could be his burial, the saddened faces of Sarutobi, Iruka and all those he knew.

He saw when Sasuke took Haku's blows for him.

He smiled. The choice was already made. There was never a question what his answer was

"_**No"**_ Naruto spoke to the image of Orochimaru in a cold, _demonic_ tone. He may have held a demon's power, but he was no monster. He would _never_ become one. His eyes focused on his enemy and he watched as strands of red chakra rose around them, encasing Orochimaru in a crimson sphere, before obliterating him. In a few moments, the dais sunk into the ground, leaving the two of them standing on soft grass. The person next to him chuckled

"**So much for the cursed seal of heaven" **Kyu jokingly commented

"Yeah... who would have thought that having the nine-tailed fox inside you would so easily stop it" Naruto quietly added, and received a smack on the back of his head.

"Hey what was that for?" he asked angrily, rubbing the back of his head

"**It wasn't me who stopped the seal kit. I kept it at bay, but it was you who destroyed the piece of Orochimaru's soul, and that stopped the seal from forming**"

"Hmm... " he placed his hand under his chin. Kyuubi watched his container in deep thought, for a moment wondering what he was thinking of "I see" Naruto quietly added, the ghost of a smile present on his face "I think I just found a way to mess with Orochimaru" he chuckled, quickly joined by Kyu. After they both stopped laughing, Kyu placed his hand on the boy's shoulders

"**You are finally ready Naruto**" he said as Naruto smiled and the world faded to black.

_(Campsite in the forest of Death)_

Naruto blinked as he woke up to the unpleasant rays of light falling on his eyes. He saw the light falling through the canopy of leaves high above him, the bright sky concealed from sight by the ever-shifting branches. Soon the sight of the sea of green was filled with several others. Faces of people he knew were friends.

"Hey gaki" Anko said with a wide smile. He smiled back as he noticed Sasuke and Sakura's relieved faces.

"H..hey" he weakly whispered. His body felt like lead. "H..how long w..was I out?"

"About an hour" Sakura answered in a calmer but happy voice.

"Oh" he simply stated. The pain and weight of his body seemed to have reduced. He tried lifting his arm, and was quite happy to find he could almost use it normally

"Hey dobe" Sasuke greeted him, with an unusual look on his face... he was smiling. Naruto resisted the urge to try and dispel the genjutsu as he knew that Sasuke had changed.

"Teme" he greeted back with a wide foxy grin. After that Sasuke's face turned serious.

"Thanks for everything" he quietly said, nearly flooring all present. Changes were one thing, but Sasuke still had a lot of the Uchiha pride in him, and that was about the last thing expected. Naruto smiled.

"What are friends for" he replied, offering his hand to the Uchiha, who gladly shook it.

Smiling at the scene before her, Anko suddenly remembered something. She took a short look at the boy's neck and only found two small traces of bite marks, but no seal. Naruto had already figured out what she was doing, but decided to let her face went through several emotions, first surprise, then disbelief and finally happiness. Unfortunately for Naruto, there was no time to converse.

"I think I'll sleep some more..." he quietly said as his eyes closed.

For the first time in a while, Anko felt content as she watched Naruto's teammates carry him off towards the tower. The boy... no young man was a wellspring of surprises, and she was glad that he was okay. Ignoring the surprised looks of the ANBU at her calm and happy smile, she returned to her duties. She wasn't overly worried about the other teams attacking them. If they survived against Orochimaru, they were strong enough to take care of themselves.

"Gather any evidence and break off" she quietly commanded, before leaving herself. The screens in the tower should have something interesting to watch.

Within the Forest of Death's tower, on it's final floor was a temporary office for the Hokage, a relic of times long past, but still kept in perfect condition by seals and workers. Inside said office, were currently all of the four jounin sensei of Konoha's rookie 12, namely Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai and Maito Gai.

"What is this about Hokage-sama? Not to mean any disrespect, but our youthful students are being tested, and I am certain that both me and the others would prefer to watch" asked the normally jubilant Gai. Quite contrary to what most people assumed, Gai, once you get past his 'eccentricities', which were a defense mechanism from years of shinobi service, was a were sharp and astute man, which was very visible once he was in battle, something which many of his compatriots forgot at times. Not that he held it against them.

His question was met with a moment of silence by the aged hokage

"Gai-kun, the reason I called you here was because earlier today, Orochimaru was sighted within the Forest of Death." he slowly explained, steeling himself for the tide of questions that was about to come. To his surprised, the jounin tensed but remained silent, waiting for him to explain.

"According to Anko's report, his primary interest was placing a Cursed seal on Sasuke Uchiha, but was prevented by a timely intervention from Naruto Uzumaki. The entire team had managed to stand on their own against him"

He pulled out four scrolls from the desk and placed them on it, right in front of the four jounin

"These are the detailed reports on the incident, I want you all to read them carefully, because we might be facing _war_"

The four jounin watched their hokage fearfully. The idea of war was not something to be taken lightly.

"What are our orders Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked in a serious voice. Slacker or not, this was no time for jokes.

"For now, observe. Look for spies and help your teams whenever possible. Should another of Orochimaru's agents be spotted, capture him. Alive preferably. Other than that keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and for any perceptible weaknesses around the village. Dismissed"

_'Now I can only hope that my foolish former student makes another mistake...' _Sarutobi thought as he summoned a few clones to do the paperwork and returned to reading his little orange book. The day had been _too_ long.

Back in the forest, Team 7 had hid themselves within a hollow tree. With sufficient space to hold a small camp and surrounded by a lot of traps, it was a safe haven until Naruto recovered, and they could proceed to the tower with both scrolls. Sasuke and Sakura kept watch on shifts while the other slept. It had been eight hours already.. Naruto should be waking up soon.

What they didn't notice were three pairs of eyes watching them. The second, stronger genin team from the Sound village, consisting of Kin Tsuchi,Dosu Kinuta and ZakuAbumi. The trio watched the genin team from a well-concealed position at a safe distance.

"There's our target" Zaku whispered pointing at Sasuke.

"What about the girl and the unconscious one?" Dosu asked, scratching his head.

"The blond brat is down already, and the pink one isn't exactly all that tough."

At the same time Sasuke was sitting back, acting asleep as he studied Naruto's sword. It was an impressive weapon, by all means. Even more so for the fact that he knew it's efficiency first hand, when it was used to try and kill him. Ever since they got back from Wave, Naruto had taken the time to help both him and Sakura with their ninja skills. He smiled when he remembered how much he had improved from his simple and easily applicable advice. His skills skyrocketed within weeks. How was he doing it all wrong before was still beyond him. And why had he helped him? Because he believed Sasuke to be his friend. He gripped the hilt of the sword and placed it next to Naruto's sleeping body, before returning to the state of being half-asleep. Through his half-closed eyes, he noticed Naruto's hand move.

Naruto had finally woken up after a long and rather rejuvenating sleep. He blinked at the natural wood above him, but just as he was about to move to check where he was, he felt three unknown chakra signatures. Silently cursing, he turned his head to the side and spotted Sasuke, and thanked Kami that his friend was watching him. He quickly got into a series of hand signals, the silent way of communication mostly used by ANBU operatives in the field

_'Three signatures, unknown, high genin level chakra, fifty meters straight out. Call Sakura back here' _he quickly signaled his friend, and was not disappointed when he did as asked

"Hey Sakura" he quietly called, while waving the girl to come over. Sakura quickly responded and walked to them, noticing the now awake Naruto, who told her, still using hand signs, not to say anything about him and for the two of them to start talking. He felt the three start moving towards them.

'_Keep ready, I'm leaving a clone and dropping into the ground so I can attack them from behind_' Naruto quickly signaled to the two. Two short nods, and Naruto grabbed his sword, and started sinking into the earth as a clone of himself appeared over him. Sasuke and Sakura were getting ready. Sasuke prepared his wakizashi while Sakura pulled out a scroll and unsealed pair of elongated kunai, made for close quarters, further enhanced by Naruto's seals. They both slowly walked out towards their enemies.

Sakura calmed down, while Sasuke assumed his 'arrogant Uchiha' look that he had perfected over the years, idly wondering what their crazy teammate had thought up for their opponents this time.

Sakura on the other hand was in a much better mood than her companion. She was perfectly aware of her shortcomings, but after facing the Snake Sannin, the trio that had been sneaking up on them was a joke. True, she didn't sense their chakra, but then again, Naruto always was in a class of his own. The two dueling kunai she had were bought a few weeks ago, and while she was decent with them, it were the enhancements that did the job, she trained her butt off so that she could use them properly.

The sound nin watched the two walk out of their tree shelter, a smirk covering two out of three faces. The only one who wasn't smirking was Kin, who smelled a trap. Unfortunately her two 'teammates' were overconfident, and she doubted that they would listen.

"Lord Orochimaru is going to kill us if we fail" she whispered to herself.

Ignoring their calls as they stepped forward, she remained under the cover of the forest, planning to use her position to take down the target from a blind spot. However, that plan turned to be futile as she felt someone's hand on her mouth and a blow to the back of her head rendered her unconscious.

Naruto never was one for wanton slaughter, although Kyuubi did tend to say otherwise, especially after the massacre on his mission to Kazashi village, and taking prisoners, especially after they muttered things about 'lord Orochimaru' seemed to be a good idea. He shortly flashed towards his friends using his sword's surface as a mirror, and waited for them to take down their two enemies

"Zaku, take down the pink one, I'm going after the Uchiha" Dosu quietly ordered, preparing to face his enemy. Unlike them, their weapons were directly attached to their bodies, Dosu's massive 'gauntlet' being a prime example. Zaku on the other hand had his weapons placed directly within his arms, small, hollow tubes which, through the use of chakra, allowed his to fire blast of combined air pressure and sound, in various ratios.

"Right" Zaku quickly answered as he prepared to take down the pink haired girl in front of him. Unlike some foolish people, Zaku learned the hard way that there is nothing inherently weak about kunoichi, and that it was downright stupid to underestimate them just because of their sex. Straightening his arms

in front of him, with his palms.

Sakura watched the man curiously as she charged, looking for a weakness in his defenses. What she didn't expect was a blast of invisible force that sent her to the ground with a wide gash on her left arm.

_'What the hell did he do?' _shewondered. She had noticed a wave of _something_, but was still uncertain. The two kunai were now fully charged with chakra, and she was ready for a brawl, if she could only get close to her enemy...'_Smoke bombs_' she thought as a thoroughly evil grin crossed her features

In the other fight, Sasuke was doing his best to protect himself from the strange high-pitched screeching that he heard in his ears. His balance was failing him, and he could barely stand.

_'Damn it, I can't fight him without the sharingan. So much for testing myself' _he mused, although he was well aware that conventional tactics were little help against an attack like this. Drawing hi chakra to his eyes, he felt the immediate relief as his balance returned and the world once more slowed down, the color slightly bleeding from it. Now that he looked more carefully he could see the waves of chakra around him coming out of his enemies metallic gauntlet. But his own gloves were no joke either. He quickly puled out his blade, and channeled all the chakra he could through the gloves and straight into the sword, the cackle of electricity now loud enough to attract the others attention as Sasuke charged his opponent, completely unperturbed by the sound waves that should have crippled him. His foe pulled out a couple of kunai and tried hitting him, but that was useless. The benefits of Sasuke's sharingan easily outweighed whatever damage his enemy was capable of doing from a range. Now he only had to avoid being hit.

Pulling the most out of his chakra reserves, he enhanced his speed, vanishing in a blur as he struck the metallic gauntlet. Dosu's one visible eye twitched for a moment as a the surge from the sword entered his body, and the gauntlet began cracking. Dosu collapsed from the electrical shock with a wide bleeding wound on his arm..

Naruto contently watched the fight from his bush with a restrained Kin lying on his lap who was still out. Ninja wire combined with chakra suppression seals did wonders for restraining foes. The fights, as always, were entertaining to watch. He was mildly disappointed that Sasuke had to rely on his sharingan, but was glad to spot the three tomoe in his eyes and the rather creative use of the gloves he made for him. Now why didn't he think of that? Sakura was having a harder time, as she didn't have Sasuke's eyes to help her out. He watched as the girl managed to adapt fast enough to dodge the blows of air sent b her opponent based solely on his aim. He was impressed. Two months ago, Sakura was still a weak fangirl who didn't use her sizable head for anything except for planning how to get together with her 'Sasuke-kun'. Now, the girl had turned into a competent, if not deadly kunoichi, capable of holding her own against stronger opponents. He was proud of his own interference into her training along with adding a few small pieces of equipment. Once more he was glad that he listened to his tenant's advice.

Sakura dodged blow after blow from her opponent, using her clones to draw his attention whenever possible. She got a good idea and proceeded to use it. Since clones are nothing more than an image, she physically entered one, letting it leave a moment later. The point was simple. From her enemies point of view, unless he could tell them apart, it was impossible to know which of the two was now the original and which was the clone. Zaku loudly cursed her wit as she kept using the clones to surround him, charging them all in and keeping herself at his back. He started shooting waves like mad, trying his best to finally find the real one when he felt a pair of blades stab him in the arms, completely disabling them before a third blow came to his family jewels, completely knocking him out\

Once more smiling at his teammates improvement, Naruto raised the unconscious girl, placing her over his shoulder as he walked out of his bush. His team was slightly winded, while he was in perfect condition without as much as a stain except for his shredded sleeves.

"One of these days Naruto, you've gotta teach me how to sneak around like that" Sasuke jokingly said while sheathing his wakizashi. As soon as he deactivated his eyes, he felt the dizziness return full force as he lost his balance and fell down, only to be caught by Sakura before passing out from chakra exhaustion.

"Nice work Sakura" Naruto complimented her, while gesturing to her fallen foe. The girl smiled, and blushed for a moment. She still wasn't used to his genuine compliments on her skill. Naruto on the other hand walked over to the bandage covered man and searched him for a scroll. Finding both a scroll of Earth and Heaven, he pocketed them. Noticing Sakura watching him with a bit of curiosity, he decided to explain

"Less competition later on" he shortly stated before summoning a three clones. Once more Sakura watched him in surprise, even more so when one of the clones picked her up, bridal style, along with another who picked up Sasuke and the third held the girl from the Sound team, while the original grabbed his sword and started going for the tower, easily followed by the other three.

As they went more towards the tower, the forest turned thicker, and thicker forcing them to go along a much longer path or cutting through whenever possible. After about an hour, his female prisoner finally woke up, trying to free herself, until she realized that she could neither move nor use her chakra.

"Don't even try it. The Boss has a few questions for you once we reach safety" the clone carrying her quickly explained. Seeing no option for escape, Kin Tsuchi resigned herself to her fate.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **To all those who are wondering how the hell Sakura manged to beat Orochimaru's clones here's a short explanation. First, those were mud clones, which according to _**me**_ means that they are about ten times weaker than the original, which still makes them a fair bit stronger than Sakura. Second, unlike shadow clones they can't use jutsu. Third, Sakura isn't an _idiot_ and a _weakling_. She may be weaker than Sasuke and Naruto, but she can use the brain behind that large forehead of hers...

When you put all that together, Sakura is fighting what are basically two slightly stronger but very frail ninja, sent by an enemy who sorely underestimated her. That, and there is the fact that two exploding tags stuck to your neck tend to get you killed :P

Also I am toying with the idea of a second woman in the romance section, but I'm not revealing anything, although I doubt people won't figure out who it is when I get to that part of the story :P

Once more thanks to Kyuubi no Shinigami for being the beta for my writing and helping preserve some bit of my sanity :D


	7. The Chunin Exams : The Tower

**Author's Ramblings: **Before I start I just want to point something out about the time in the chapters about the exams including this one. First, the exam lasts five days. Second, the point in which they camp and lay taps is the end of the first day, the point in which Naruto interrogates Kin (this chapter) is the end of the second day, and the point in which he is lying on the roof is the end of the third day, so that leaves him with the fourth and the fifth day free. As I'm a bit lost (mentally), I wrote three days later, and I meant the sixth day (Right after the time for the exam is over), so because I really have nowhere to check whether it is rightly written, I posted this info for easier understanding.

Also there are two more announcements to make. First, I've decided to make a mayor turn from the original story in keeping Yahiko alive. Why? Because I wanted to make something different. In any case, I haven't written anything that would make it impossible so far. The other is that this will as of now be a single person pairing (not a trio and certainly not a harem). I will not change either of these decisions

BTW I also have no intention of depicting either Gai or Lee as 'youthful' idiots, as I consider them both to be downright awesome (apart for the spandex... that's just creepy)

Tenten's Twin Rising Dragon move has been altered as I can't bother myself to watch the anime again to see it :D Besides, I remember it looked cool, so I placed it that way

Keep in mind that this is a non-betaed version due to certain kinks in the server, so spelling errors are quite possible. I"ll be posting a fixed up version a soon as it get's fixed up :P

Also I"d like to than all the folks who've been reading my writing. A total of **27,006 Hits** and **11,149 Visitors were registered before the posting of this chapter  
**

**Replies to Reviews:**

InARealPickle – I sent a message to explain the details of the tactics. It's mostly thinking on your feet against a low-level enemy

Play4ever – Thanks for the notice about the missing parts. I fixed that up. Also, no bbq for me apparently... I'm on a diet these days :( As for the Sasuke situation, he used a subconscious substitution (he didn't do it by handseals or by 'knowingly' using the jutsu, whether that means anything or not, I leave it to you to debate :P)

Whatever Star – Thanks for the frequent reviews for one. As for the cursed seal, I'll explain some details later

matrice – Like it was noted above, thanks for the frequent reviews. I kept Naruto playing stealthy for the same reason, and because he likes to keep his enemies underestimating him for as long as possible. Besides, I'm considering a rather entertaining scene where the council say that he's to weak to be Hokage... care to guess what would happen? :D

Innerstruggle88 – There won't be any other women. I've thought this over in great detail, and fond that I can't and/or won't write it.

Wing Zero Alchemist – I've already replied to you in detail, so I'll just add it once more, thanks for the luvin' :P

OkamiAlucard – As I've mentioned before, thanks for reading and frequent reviewing. It actually means a lot to me to see people stay around for every new chapter and still say that they like it. As for why Naruto took Kin, it was her mention of Lord Orochimaru. Naruto may not be privy to all of the info in the village but because of his relationship with Anko, he hold very little love for the man, not to mention that he is basically Konoha's public enemy number one and that his team got attacked by the ol' snake. So whatever info he can get on him is welcome. Aside from that, team sabotage :P

The Greatest of These is Love – Your two arguments were among the reasons I decided against making it a love trio or more. Also, for the age thing. Take into account that they live in a world where violence is a norm rather than an occurrence and that they take lives on a daily basis, many of them before they even reach ten during wars. Naruto had a downright fucked up childhood, mostly causing him to age mentally, but also to shield himself with an emotional mask. Besides as other authors very much tend to say (and I agree) old enough to kill, old enough to have sex... or love ;) As for artificial aging, I'll skip something like that. He is already quite mature even if his childish part comes out at times. Also, Anko is 18 so...

Timetravelviajutsu – Kin is a genin of an unknown village and knows Orochimaru. Killing is allowed in the exam and so is taking prisoners and interrogating them. So why wouldn't he try and get intel on an enemy?

Now, enjoy the new chapter :D

* * *

_Chapter 7 : The Chunin Exams : The Tower_

Not very far from the Tower, Naruto decided it was time to set up camp and do some light inte... eh, questioning. The others aside from his prisoner were asleep. He slowly walked over to her, all the while studying her expression. She was afraid, but of what he wasn't all that sure. Perhaps she'd be willing to reveal a few pieces of information He summoned a few clones to keep watch before sitting down in front of her. She glared at him defiantly, but something about it seemed out of place. Considering the entire situation, he started the preparations. Pulling out a blank seal tag, he quickly formed the seal for a silence barrier before activating it. A near-invisible barrier formed a dome around them, snuffing out all sound coming from the outside. After that, he pulled out a set of senbon needles, sticking one into a pressure point of each of her limbs, paralyzing them, before cutting of the ninja wire used to tie her up. Once more checking the chakra suppression seal, he calmly sat down. Inside he was sickened by what he was about to do, he didn't enjoy the idea of interrogating someone by using fear, but he knew just how important this information would be.

"We can do this the easy way, I ask a few questions you answer them and if I'm content I'll let you go as soon as we reach the tower." he said in a polite but firm tone

"And if I won't?" the girl asked, speaking for the first time, mostly because her gag was finally removed. Naruto's face darkened

"Suffice to say that it won't be... pleasant" he retorted humorlessly. Kin swallowed hard, while the young man in front of her was supposed to be a genin everything about him screamed experience and skill. And she was perfectly aware that her life was completely in his hands. No one would comment if she suddenly turned up dead, and he'd spared her life once.

"How do I know you won't kill me as soon as I tell you anything?" she asked, now visibly afraid. Naruto chuckled.

"You don't" he said, instantly turning serious "But what you do know, is that if you don't cooperate, I could leave you here paralyzed and bleeding for the beasts to play with."

Naruto had no intention of doing so however. He could only hope that his threats would be enough. Laced with a bit of killing intent, so far they seemed to work.

Kin, after deliberating her options, perfectly aware that Orochimaru would _kill_ her one he found out she was caught, and that would be if she was lucky, decided that she might at least make the bastard's life miserable

"For starters, what is your name?" he asked in a firm tone.

"Kin Tsuchi" she quickly replied, with her head down, watching the ground. Naruto made a sad smile, she was now almost broken, but he wouldn't allow himself to cross that threshold. Looking back at the small fire he had set up he pulled the instant ramen cup which was now properly heated

"Are you hungry?" he asked in a much kinder voice. Kin looked at him in a mixture of surprise and disbelief. She nodded. For a moment he wondered whether his next decision was wise, but he decided to do it anyway. Without chakra, she wasn't a threat. After puling out the needles from her arms and quickly healing the area, Kin's arms were once more free to move. Without a word he handed her the cup of ramen along with a set of chopsticks

"Enjoy" he said with a small smile as the girl first watched the food suspiciously, before giving up her suspicions and wolfing it down. Naruto took the time to one more analyze her and gather in his mind the questions he meant to ask. '_Kin Tsuchi, genin of Otogakure. Skills at mid chunin level, focuses on senbon needles, had needles attached to ninja wire with bells. No other apparent skills.'_ he finished the first analysis,_' So, what I need to ask is about Otogakure, it's unknown leader, and why she is afraid of 'Lord Orochimaru'. Not exactly easy questions. And if she's working for him, why doesn't she have the scent of snakes like Kabuto?' _

Kin had finally finished her short meal, laying down the cup on the ground, before lying down with her back on the tree behind her. She seemed a bit more relaxed that she was before, but fear was still present. Then he noticed a detail that worried him. The brashness and the attitude were a mask, much like his. She _was_ afraid.

"Now, let's get back to the questions." he kindly said, but his voice still kept it's firmness.

Kin spent what little time she had studying her captor. While very serious, and ridiculously strong compared to her, he seemed like a kind man. Perhaps she'd get a painless death. It seemed that would be most she would get. It would be a blessing considering the alternatives.

"What do you want to know?" she asked in a defeated voice.

"What can you tell me about the leader of your village?" he asked while grabbing his cup of ramen.

For a moment Kin sat silent. '_Under threat of death... I'm dead anyway..._'

"The leader of Otogakure is... Orochimaru" she explained in a calm tone. Naruto on the other hand spat out the ramen he was eating. '_That was unexpected. So, Orochimaru, as Otokage, sent a team to hut down someone in my team, while he was present here himself... Sasuke, he planned to put that damnable seal on him, and then the team he sent would have been a test for his new found power. Just how much of a manipulative bastard can one man be? Regardless, I have to get this information to Jiji. But how?_'

"Surprised?" Kin asked

"Quite." he said after recovering. He was thankful that he didn't spill any of the ramen on his clothes. That would have been troublesome. "What was your mission?" he continued.

"To spy during the exams and to take out Sasuke Uchiha."

"Penalty for failure?" he asked again

"To be used as a subject in Lord Orochimaru's experiments" as Kin spoke, she shuddered. Even Naruto felt a shiver go up his spine. And he thought that this was too much. He sent his subjects to a certain death either way. _'To hell with it all. I may be a fool for doing this, but I can't let her just die like that. But how to persuade the old man?' _ he paused hits train of thought for a moment, considering the possibilities '_That's it. Information on Otogakure and Orochimaru in return for asylum. The old man would probably accept that_'

"I might have an offer for you..."

Very few people in the observation room of the tower were surprised that Konoha's Team 7, under the tutelage of Kakashi Hatake was able to safely arrive, carrying no less than four scrolls and a prisoner. The last bit surprised most of them, but they had to admit it was an acceptable tactic to reduce enemy numbers.

Out of all present jounin, Kakashi was especially proud. He had seen his team change from a bunch of brats into more than capable group.

The three clones of Naruto following the original had finally arrived in front of the tower. The ancient edifice before them inspired awe in the young man. He smiled to his now sleeping companions and prisoner. The young woman had some interesting information he was sure Anko and Ibiki would _kill _for... or do something even more unpleasant. He would have to talk about it to the old man, he was certain he could convince him to do something. Walking into the tower another thought occurred to him: How many teams _did _manage to get here?

_(12:00, Konoha, ANBU Headquarters, Office of the Head of Torture and Interrogation )_

Ibiki Morino was having a field day and sporting an uncharacteristic grin which made sure that most of the ANBU kept a safe distance. First, the kid that Anko was talking so much about had brought them in Kabuto Yakushi, and the poor bastard didn't even know that he was a spy thanks to a well concealed seal on the back of his neck, and not even a mind reader from the Yamanaka clan was able to dig out anything.. Unfortunately, none of them knew how to brake said seal, although he did make several copies, planning to give one to 'Wonderboy' a he kept calling him much to Anko's chagrin. The second thing that made his day was the fact that the same kid brought another person to feel his tender skills. Now, he was seriously considering buying the kid a drink, or at least dropping by to watch the remainder of his matches. 'Those should be fun' he idly thought as he sealed up his set of torture instruments. Going through his mental checklist, he finally turned off the light in his office before proceeding to the prisons of the Tower.

_(14:00, The Tower in the Forest of Death)_

Much to his endless pleasure, Naruto was finally able to rest. Kin was now held within one of the tower's prison cells, awaiting the arrival of Ibiki Morino and Hiruzen Sarutobi for her interrogation. Sarutobi, while hesitant, was willing to offer the girl protection in return for all the information she could give on Orochimaru. And to his growing surprise, Ibiki had asked for him to be present.

Something was bugging him though. Since the moment he woke up after the battle with Orochimaru his chakra has been off. Resigning to figure it out later, he returned to his observations. It was time for practice. Sitting down behind the railing, he closed his eyes and focused on distorting the shape of the field of Radiance so that he cold reach the door. He was very much glad to find it not nearly as hard as he expected.

Idly monitoring from his hidden perch on the first floor, he gazed at the teams that were arriving. One such team was Team 8, consisting of Kiba, Hinata and Shino. 'Trackers', he reminded himself, his mind racing through all the information he could gather on them. '_Kiba Inuzuka, clan heir of the Inuzuka clan, partnered by the nin-dog Akamaru. Specialty tracking and clan taijutsu techniques. No ninjutsu or genjutsu. Brash, arrogant, but very loyal and dedicated. Shino Aburame, another clan heir. Uses Kikai beetles which feed on chakra, leaving the host's body very low on it. and incapable of using chakra-consuming jutsu, but capable of using the beetles for various clan techniques. Specializes in recon, tracking and clan techniques Mostly stoic and withdrawn but highly intelligent and loyal. And finally Hyuuga Hinata. Taijutsu specialist, using the Gentle Fist style and wielder of the Hyuuga bloodline Byakugan. Shy, withdrawn and has confidence issues but fiercely protective of her friends and family. Also has an apparent crush on me_.'

The others walked in a well. '_Team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, just like their parents before them. Decent level of skill, but nothing special. Out of the three, Shikamaru Nara was the one to be feared for his intellect, which he was more then willing to use should the situation call for it. At other times he was a lazy bum. His control over shadows was his strong point. Ino Yamanaka, a __mind walker like her father, is dangerous, but not overly so. Another fangirl apparently. Chouji is probably the strongest out of our generation, a pure taijutsu expert. Despite his usually calm attitude __he is not to be underestimated.'_

'_Two interesting teams_' Naruto silently mused '_Well best get going'_

And that he would have done had he not seen something that provoked his curiosity. One of the sleeping rooms had it's door open, and inside was Gaara, lying on his bed curled up and crying while whispering something. He reminded himself that he was probably the most dangerous of all of the genin present at the exams, so a little espionage cold be of use. Putting a bit of chakra into his ears, he leaned on the wall just far enough so it wouldn't seem that he was spying and focused on the boy's voice

"... the memories... the blood" he whispered in a scared voice, before it stopped, only to be replaced by maniacal laughter. The laughter that would have made Orochimaru cringe in fear.

'_What happened to him?_' he sadly wondered, shaking his head. He decided it would be wise to check up on his team before going to the cells.

Making sure that his teammates were okay, Naruto started climbing towards the higher levels of the tower where the prison cells were. The dark stone of the corridors lend a depressive feeling to the whole place, but the lighting in the form of faintly glowing seals were something that he fond very interesting. Idly running various theories through his mind as to how the dead was done, he didn't notice that he reached the prison until he bumped into the back of a guard.

"Watch were you're.. oh it's you Naruto" Naruto raised his head only to be met by the porcelain mask of Cat, otherwise known as Yugao Uzuki.

"Hello Cat-san" he replied in a friendly tone, minding her mask. "Is Ibiki here?"

"Hai. Go right in." she quickly replied, letting him through into the interrogation room. The small room that Naruto now found himself in was simple. Stone floor, stone walls, and only a lamp to give light. In the middle was a single wooden table and four chairs. In one sat Kin Tsuchi, in the other across from her was Ibiki Morino. On one side was Hiruzen Sarutobi and on the other an empty chair awaiting him.

Sarutobi smiled in greeting, while Ibiki merely stared at Kin. Naruto kept quiet and sat down on the free chair. The tension in the air was palpable as the predator stared down it's prey, although from the way the two were looking at each other it wasn't really sure which was which. Thankfully, said tension was easily broken by the loud sound of a door being slammed into place, courtesy of Yugao.

Sarutobi coughed, drawing the attention of all three present to himself. Naruto was surprised at what he saw. Gone was the kindly old man that he loved a grandfather. In his place was The Professor, the God of Shinobi, the Third Hokage in all his might, a veritable titan whose indomitable will imposed itself on whatever dared go against him and whose cunning intellect making enough calculations within a moment to make a Nara weep in jealousy. Naruto's reaction was a mixture of surprise and awe to what he had seen. He knew that inside there was still the care and kindness, but he was once more the legend that had struck fear into the hearts of Konoha's enemies. He couldn't help but grin.

"So young lady, are you willing to cooperate?" he asked in a stern voice laced with just enough killing intent to show how serious he was.

"Hai" she quickly replied. However, unlike before there was a hint of hope in her voice.

"I see. Ibiki here will be in charge of your questioning. He will make sure that all you're telling us is the truth. If we are both pleased, you will be placed on probation for three months and after that, accepted as a citizen of Konoha. If you're still willing to be a shinobi, you will also be offered a position. Fair?"

"Hai. More than fair"

"Good. Now Naruto, I expect a full report on the 'incident' as soon as this part of the exams is over. Ask Kakashi for help on it." Sarutobi quickly explained before getting up and leaving, leaving the three of them behind. Naruto got up to leave as well, but he felt a strong hand pushing down his shoulder

"Stay for a few more minutes" Ibiki shortly said in his usual gruff voice "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Nodding to the scarred man, Naruto sat down. Kin on the other hand just kept silent through the whole ordeal. She had a chance. She could actually stay alive. '_So much for the leaf nin being heartless __bastards as Orochimaru put it._' she happily mused.

Ibiki pulled out a small paper and passed it to Naruto.

"Look at it later then tell me if you can break it without killing the person it's on." he explained. Naruto barely noticed the minute tone of annoyance in his voice, annoyance at the fact that the thing on the paper was beyond his skills. Naruto nodded once more, and placed the paper into his pocket.

"Now that that's settled, take a seat and let's chat" Ibiki finally added, his face turning expressionless a he returned to his job. Naruto sat on his chair, and let his additional sense do the job of reading them as he closed his eyes.

Sasuke woke up to a splitting headache. Loudly groaning, he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and an even more unfamiliar bed. He turned to his sides and noticed two more beds in the room, on one of which was Sakura, peacefully sleeping. Rubbing his aching temples, Sasuke slowly got up. Taking a short look around, he noticed all of his equipment carefully sorted on a chair next to his bed. Sakura's equipment was similarly sorted and Naruto's was mostly missing, except for his red coat which was lying on the third bed. _'So he brought us here and walked off... typical' _he grinned. This was probably the tower and since they had not two, but _four_ scrolls, he was pretty sure they passed. '_Well, perhaps taking another nap might not be such a bad idea'_

Within his temporary office, Sarutobi once more grumbled at the sheer amount of trouble the exams brought up. However, the whole mess had it's brighter points, and Naruto was the one responsible for most of them. He pointed out a spy during the first phase of the exams, brought in a _very _useful source of information during the second. Now that his former student Jiraya was here as well with additional information about a possible invasion, he had all the information needed to stop Orochimaru before he got a chance to do something. But there was a bit that seriously annoyed him. One of his ANBU caught an assassin going for Naruto. Under Ibiki's tender mercies, it took him no longer than fifteen minutes to spill his guts as to who paid him. It was definitely time to remind the civilian council just _who_ ran this village. And he had such _devious_ ideas...

For the first time in months, Naruto felt truly tired. Having climbed up the outer walls to the roof of the tower, Naruto watched the night sky, the thousands of stars even clearer now that he was away from the village lights. The silvery sphere of the full moon cast it's light on the troubled boy as he gazed at his right palm. Within it, placed over his oath scar was a simple medallion, a silver snowflake attached to a simple silver chain, a parting gift from a friend. If one looked closer, he would see tears welling up in the boy's eyes. Beside him lay an oversized sword, it's surface glistening in the moonlight. Sighing sadly, Naruto returned the necklace to it's rightful place around his neck and lay down to watch the stars one more time, trying hard not to think of what he had learned during the interrogation. The news were disturbing, but then again, his world was not one known for maintaining the sanity of it's inhabitants. One other thing, or rather, person returned to his thoughts constantly. He made a small smile as he thought of her, but decided that as much as he enjoyed it, it really wasn't the time for daydreaming, His thoughts once more returned to the matters at hand

"Now that the old man knows, what do we do about it?" he asked no one in particular, before sighing again. He really did that too much these days. There were better things to do... such as working on his seals. A devious smirk crossed his lips. He still had two days of free time.

_(Timeskip – Three days later, the end of the second part of the exams)_

_(8:00, Tower in the Forest of Death, Ground level)_

It was finally time. The test ended with a grand total of eight teams reaching the tower in time. The remaining 16 teams were either dead, late or gave up. All of the Konoha rookies were there, Teams 7,8,9 and 10. The Sand team was there as well, joined by a single team from Mist and Stone, and much to Naruto's surprise, the team from Sound that his team personally dismantled. He smelled the old man's interference in that, but he always knew what he was doing, these days more often than before. He threw a curious glance at the kage booth, where he spotted an unusual figure at the Hokage's side apart from Anko. A large man, with long spiky white hair and red markings beneath his eyes. Thanks to his recent studies, he was a bit more aware of Konoha's finest. _'That's Jiraya the Toad Sage. Wonder what he's doing here?' _He also noticed an unnaturally large grin on the old Hokage's face. His further musings were interrupted by the arrival of a man in a chunin vest, another proctor for the exams. The twenty-four remaining genin instantly calmed down.

"Greeting 'cough' my name is Gekkou Hayate, and I will be the proctor for this part of the exams.. Before you can proceed 'cough' to the third part of the Chunin exams, there will be a round of 'cough' preliminary matches, according to the rules. The screen" he points to a large screen on the wall behind him "will show the pairings."

At that point, names started flashing over the screen until it showed a pair

_Inuzuka Kiba vs Rock Lee_

"Everyone 'cough' except the two contestants leave the arena"

The other genin quickly evacuated the arena, climbing to the stands that surrounded it. Naruto decided to watch this battle very carefully. Lee maybe was unable to use chakra, but he was a taijutsu prodigy, something that he himself couldn't claim. Kiba on the other hand wouldn't be as much of a problem.

Hayate stood back as Lee and Kiba starred each other down

"This is going to be an easy one, eh Akamaru? That's the guy who can't even use chakra" Kiba jokingly asked, while his dog barked in response. Naruto made a mental note of the fact.

Lee merely laughed before replying"Let's have a good match"

"Begin!" Hayate shouted before jumping back.

"Let's go partner!" Kiba shouted and dropped into his stance, hands on the floor in a half-crouch. Akamaru jumped on his back, in preparation for his family's jutsu. However, Lee wasn't going to wait for Kiba to finish his jutsu and instantly charged him.

"Not bad Kiba-san, but you're too slow" Lee added as he slammed his fist into Kiba's face. Kiba loudly cursed a he flew back and slammed into the wall. Kiba picked himself up from the rubble, and is canine partner quickly joined him. Without stopping for a moment he pulled out a number of smoke bombs. Lee once more charged, planning to stop him, but it was too late. Kiba had already dodged, and only his voice could be heard from the smoke

"Man beast clone!" he shouted the name of the first jutsu, immediately followed by the second "Four Legs jutsu"

Lee jumped out of the smoke, and stood perfectly still in his stance, awaiting Kiba to come out. The smoke cleared, and Lee was surprised to see not one, but two completely feral looking copies of Kiba. Unlike Lee however, Naruto, along with several others didn't fail to notice that Akamaru was nowhere in sight.

Just as Lee was about to attack, the his two opponents leaped, shouting"Dual Piercing Fang!"

Much to his dismay, Lee found out that he could only dodge the two figures spinning at high speed, bouncing off of every surface they came into contact with.

'_Come on, how long can they maintain this?_' he mentally asked himself, as he kept dodging blow after blow, waiting for a good opportunity to strike.

Up in the stands, Kurenai was slightly worried for her student. Gai was not one known for doing training half-way and because his team had a full year's advantage over hers, Kiba could be in a lot of trouble. As for Gai, he was merely smirking at his students patience. '_He has improved a lot_'. He watched him wait for just the right moment before he slammed his foot into one of the tornadoes, apparently Akamaru, as he poofed back into a dog as soon as he hit the ground.

"Damn it" Kiba shouted as he stopped right next to a whimpering and heavily bruised Akamaru "Sorry boy" he said in an unusually gentle tone as he lifted him, never dropping his guard in the process. Lee waited for him to finish whatever he was doing. Unlike some, he had a very good idea of what the term camaraderie meant. This was a test, no need to do more harm then necessary.

Kiba gritted his teeth. He underestimated his opponent, Rock Lee turned out to be a _lot_ stronger than he expected, and he wasn't skilled enough to fight him and win, and now because of his mistake his partner Akamaru had been badly hurt. With him he might have stood a chance, but like this... '_Unless we both take one of the pills. _'.

"What do you think Akamaru?" he whispered to the pup who growled in response, causing the Inuzuka heir to make a toothy grin. "Right boy."

On the other side of the arena, Lee noticed that something was about to happen. Kiba and Akamaru both got up and Kiba pulled out a pair of small bluish pills, popping one into his mouth and tossing the other to Akamaru. He charged towards the duo, planning to take them out before they had a chance to do whatever they planned.

Kiba smirked _'Good thing I kept a few more smoke bombs stashed' _he thought, throwing all of them to the ground. The thick cloud covered the minor changes that came over him and the not so minor ones that came over Akamaru, such as his now blood-red fur. This time around, Lee charged straight into the cloud. He couldn't find either of them.

Kiba was grinning wildly as he and Akamaru both easily dodged Lee thanks to their sense of smell. The bowl-shaped boy's scent was so easy to follow it was ridiculous. '_I have to thank Naruto later on for all those pranks we pulled_' he thought as he started the next phase of his 'plan'.

Within the smoke cloud, Lee was now battered by even faster attacks then before. As much as he kept blocking, there was no way to keep it up with both of them like this.

"Sensei!" Lee shouted. A lot of people turned to Gai who was now smiling.

"You have my permission!" Gai shouted back, and within second a loud thump was heard from the smoke cloud as cracks extended from it. Kiba's entire team was now worried.

"I'm sorry to say this Kurenai-san, but your pupil doesn't stand a chance now" Gai said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. Kurenai sighed sadly, well aware that he was right, but still hoping that he would somehow win.

Back in the arena, Lee vanished, moving at such speeds that the smoke dissipated. Kiba and Akamaru stood back to back, claws ready to strike their ridiculously fast opponent. This time, Kiba was on the receiving end of Lee's strikes

"Leaf Rising Wind!" Lee shouted as he slammed his leg into Kiba's face, launching him into the air. He quickly followed the strike with a leap, rising above Kiba before slamming him down with his fist into the gut.

Moments later Kiba crashed into the ground leaving a small crater, alive but almost unconscious. He looked at the proctor who simply nodded. Akamaru had returned to his normal form and was nuzzling Kiba's hand, whimpering sadly

"Winner Rock Lee!" Hayate shouted, only to cough afterward.

"That was a good fight my youthful friend" Lee respectfully said while helping Kiba up, supporting him on the shoulder as the medics arrived to pick him up

"Damn..." Kiba weakly muttered "I wasn't even close"

"That's nothing some training can't fix" Lee said happily "If you're willing I can help you out once the exams are over" he added cheerfully. Kiba watched his former opponent in disbelief, before smiling himself

"That would be cool" he laughed back while they both left the arena. Up in the stands both Gai and Kurenai were now smiling at the pair.

As soon as the arena was cleared, the screen started going through names again, only to stop at the next pair

_Sasuke Uchiha vs Mikashi Tokai_

"Will the 'cough' contestants please step down into the arena" Hayate called. Both Sasuke and the stone genin started going down.

"Play it safe" Sasuke heard Naruto's voice from right behind him, before giving a thumb-up in understanding. As soon as they were both in the arena, Sasuke took the time before the match started to analyze his opponent. He was slightly taller than him with short and spiky brown hair and unusually cold red eyes, which seemed to size him up. He was dressed unusually for a ninja, wearing black pants and jacket all covered with small interconnected metallic plates. '_A lot of muscle, he probably relies on strength rather than speed, but that wicked staff of his might be a problem along with that armor. No telling what kind of jutsu he uses though_'

Glad with the info he gathered, Sasuke placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to start the match. Mikashi took a similar stance with his staff .

"Begin!"

Both genin jumped back instantly. There were no taunts, no talking whatsoever as the battle began. Sasuke barely had the time to notice his opponent going through handseals. It was too late to use the sharingan to copy them or identify the jutsu.

"Earth Release : Stone Spikes" Mikashi shouted as he slammed his right palm into the ground while holding his staff above him with the other hand. Sasuke almost failed to jump and avoid the spikes that were now covering the entire arena floor apart from the small area where Mikashi was standing. Still floating in the air, he noticed that the spikes had receded back into the earth as his opponent charged and leaped towards him, using chakra to propel himself even faster. Activating his Sharingan, he started flashing through handseals for a jutsu of his own

"Fire Release: Grand Fireball" he cried as he exhaled the large orb of flame, aimed straight at his opponent who had leaped at him, hoping to take him while he was in the air.

Up in the stands, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura cheered on for their teammate as the fireball slammed into his opponent.

Sasuke quickly landed on the ground and drew out his wakizashi, once more using his gloves to charge it with electricity. Mikashi hit the ground hard, but recovered quickly enough to parry the blow with his staff. Now for the first time, Sasuke had a chance to see the staff up close, and leaped back quickly when he noticed the seals on it glowing, barely avoiding the counter attack that slammed into the ground. The cracks that appeared beneath the staff gave him a good idea as to why it wouldn't be healthy to get hit.

'_If at first you don't succeed.._' he mused as he pulled out a dozen shuriken connected to ninja wire. He smirked as he started throwing them around, content that his opponent couldn't see the wire. The shuriken flew straight at his opponent, who decided to dodge rather than block them, much like he had anticipated '_I didn't even charge them this time, and he still dodged. Now for the second salvo_'

Taking out eight kunai, equally connected to wires he started throwing them one by one as his opponent kept moving and dodging them. What Mikashi failed to notice was that Sasuke had been making a literal web of _highly conductive_ ninja wire around him. Now, it was only a mater of him hitting a few of them and getting tangled up.

"Were all the Uchiha that pitiful?" Mikashi asked in an arrogant tone as he prepared to charge his opponent. Sasuke suppressed the urge to charge at him, opting to wait and shock the bastard. "Come on, you're just standing there, make this at least a bit more fun" he kept taunting. Back in the stands, only Naruto was still smirking, as he was the only one perfectly aware what Sasuke was doing. Kakashi gave him an inquisitive look, to which he only responded with "Watch and enjoy"

The opportune moment finally arrived as Mikashi charged at Sasuke, who jumped to the side, literally entangling his foe in ninja wire. Drawing out the spool to which all of the wires were connected, he firmly grasped it with his right hand before pumping as much chakra as he could into the gloves. The results were immediate as the wire crackled with the electricity that surged through it and into Mikashi's body.

Sasuke dropped on his knee as the exhaustion caught up with him. Thankfully, his plan worked, and tanks to the plates on him, the gloves shocked him even worse than they would have normally, if the smoke rising from his lightly burnt body was any indication.

"Proctor... I think he's unable to continue" Sasuke weakly said, catching the coughing man's attention

"Uh... right. Winner Sasuke Uchiha"

The other members of team 7 cheered for the victorious Uchiha as he climbed back up.

"Nice fight Sasuke" Naruto said in his now-usual serious tone. His friend merely nodded as he sat down to see who was going to fight next. Once he saw the name, the raven-haired youth smiled. This was going to be fun

_Naruto Uzumaki vs Tenten Higurashi_

"Now _this_ is going to be entertaining" Kakashi jokingly noted. Gai threw him a surprised look

"Wasn't Naruto your weakest student?" he asked, while Kakashi threw back an eye smile.

"I might have forgotten to update his records" he lied. In truth, Naruto had asked him to keep them the way he was before the wave mission, with only some minimal updates so it would seem realistic, while he and the Hokage were kept perfectly aware of his skills via a second record that was kept safely on the old man's person at all times.

Gai ruefully shook his head at his 'rival'. But after that, Kakashi's expression turned serious.

"I hope you're trained her well Gai." he said "For her sake"

Down in the arena, Naruto and Tenten starred at each other as Hayate approached to start the match. Naruto was perfectly calm, unlike his opponent who seemed somewhat angry for some reason.

"Do you have an issue with me?" he asked in his perfectly calm voice. However he quickly put two and two together when he noticed the was she was eying his sword than watching him dismissively.

'_So, she thinks I'm some idiot who got his hands on a strong sword and doesn't know how to use it, eh? Asking the old man to keep my records a secret was a better idea than I thought_'

"Do you even know how to hold a sword?" she asked him, to which he only smiled as he placed one hand on the hilt of the once more bandaged blade, but quickly decided against it

"I'd rather see how good you are first before deciding whether I'll need the sword" he added while he placed his hand on one of the seals on his belt.

"Begin!" Hayate shouted before jumping back. Tenten leaped back as well while Naruto merely unsealed one of his special seal kunai, activating the chakra shell around it and using his molding skills to extend the blade a bit by adding his own chakra to it. He momentarily reminded himself of what he found out about his opponent

_'Higurashi Tenten, weapon specialist, no other notable skills apart from the academy ones. Known to carry a LOT of weapons. This should prove interesting. Let's see how her aim goes against my Radiance'_

Naruto kept his calm smile as he saw Tenten begin throwing a salvo of kunai. He stood perfectly calm until the kunai reached the edge of his sphere. He calmly closed his eyes as he sidestepped all ten of them. With his free hand, he lowered his hitai-ate over his eyes.

Kakashi was now worried, but not for Naruto as Gai thought. "Kakashi what is that boy doing?"

"Sigh... thanks to his... unconventional training he has sharper reflexes than most chunin, let alone genin. Dodging and parrying a hundred projectiles would be no challenge for him."

Next to Kakashi, Sasuke was _laughing. _Sakura merely watched with a smile on her face.

"And to think he's not even using jutsu" a stoic Shino commented from the sides. He had seen Naruto in action once, and if nothing else, he certainly wasn't worried for the blond. He knew how to take care of himself.

In the arena, Naruto kept dodging wave after wave of weapons, until he finally decided to test his kunai and the usual variant. Focusing on an incoming kunai, he sliced straight at it, only to be surprised when the shell of chakra broke off from the blade and cut straight through the kunai, before flying off towards Tenten.

"That was unexpected" he thought out loud, causing many to sweatdrop

On the other side, Tenten was getting worried as well. She had tried most of her tactics on her opponent and each and every one had failed. She had expected an idiot of an opponent, but he was no joke, in fact he was beating her blindfolded!

"I'm afraid you're at a disadvantage" Naruto tried to explain in his infuriatingly calm voice. Sasuke and Kakashi, along with a few others recognized how this manner of speech perfectly resembled Itachi. "You see, I've been training some of my skills by blocking or dodging vast numbers of projectiles at a time. So without going all out, you don't stand a chance of hitting me"

Tenten silently cursed as she planned her next move. Naruto was apparently willing to wait for her. _'Well, that's gonna bite him in the back' _she gingerly thought as she prepared two scrolls. Picking up the minute chakra signature of her scrolls, Naruto lifted one side of his hitai-ate, putting it very much like Kakashi,who in turn felt very proud of his student. Up in the stands, Shikamaru, Shino and Neji carefully studied Naruto's moves and tactics, each trying to figure out what the blond enigma was doing. Out of them, Shino was the least surprised, but the only one who knew what the result of this match would be for sure was Shikamaru

"She's going to lose and badly" he quietly said.

In the kage box, three figures watched Naruto's fight with great interest. Anko was enjoying herself, while Sarutobi merely watched the boy with pride. The only one who was amazed was Jiraya, who hadn't expected that much skill from the boy. He was also the only one to notice the dome of chakra that covered the entire arena.

"The gaki is good" he muttered

"You have no idea" Anko added while giggling, which promptly caused the two to take a step away from her.

"Scrolls?" Naruto asked with very little emotion. Inside he was giddy to see another scroll technique at work.

Tenten smirked at him, confident that her move would land at least a few blows

"Just don't get surprised when it kills you" she added in a serious voice. Now very interested, Naruto lifted the other end from his eyes. He watched the girl pull out a small pair of scrolls, holding them both in one hand before unrolling in the air and smearing her blood on both.

'_What's she gonna use? Chakra converters? Exploding seals? A ton of weapons? Damn I wanna know!_'

"He's done for, trained or not, there's no way he can avoid that move" Gai confidently said, while Kakashi shook his head "He hasn't even begun to fight Gai"

The scrolls instantly began releasing smoke and flew up in the air quickly followed by Tenten.

"Secret Technique: Twin Rising Dragons" she shouted as the two smoke dragons rose with her, only to glow brightly for a moment and unleash a veritable wall of metal heading straight in his direction. Naruto's eyes widened for a moment, he couldn't possibly block and dodge all of those with only the kunai. Cursing his bad judgment of his opponent, he quickly plunged a decent amount of his chakra into the sword on his back, the familiar sound of chakra shredding cloth signifying that the sword was free. The feedback from the field of Radiance was incredible. There had to be hundreds.. no, nearly a thousand projectiles heading straight at him. Quickly funneling as much chakra as possible to his arms to increase speed, he started blocking each and every projectile.

_'Damn, I didn't expect this many projectiles... wait, what's this behind them? Wires? Shit!'_

He mentally cursed as he began cutting down the fine assortment of shuriken, kunai, senbon even usually non-throwable weapons were added to the mix, which he found out as he sidestepped an oversized hammer. With every move, the shell of chakra around the Kubikiri Houcho kept shredding the ninja wire attached to the weapons, so that when the barrage was finally over, less then a hundred projectiles still had their strings attached. Tenten tried pulling them up, but they too were soon disabled.

She watched her opponent with new-found respect. He had blocked and dodged his way through her strongest attack with nothing but a giant sword. No jutsu whatsoever.

"How?" she asked while getting up from the floor.

"Training. Lots and lots of downright _scary_ training. The last time I tried blocking projectiles there were over a hundred of them, so this is a new experience for me" he said with a small, but genuine smile, which soon vanished when he noticed the handle of a kama sticking out of his leg, the blade having pierced straight through . Cursing for a moment, he pulled it out, throwing the bloodied weapon aside as his hand was encompassed by green chakra.

"He can use medical jutsu as well?" Kurenai asked Kakashi, now even more curious about the blond

"Frankly, I don't think there's an area he _can't_ learn." Kakashi answered in his serious voice. Inside he was damn proud of the boy for showing all of them just how capable he was.

The wound on his leg healed, Naruto decided it was time for a little showing off.

"Since you were kind enough to show me your technique with scrolls, it's only fair I do the same" he said with a wide smile. Tenten suddenly felt the temperature drop by a few degrees. Up in the stands Kakashi once more looked at the boy with wide eyes, he perfectly remembered what that move of his did to a fully trained enemy ninja, the girl wouldn't stand a chance if he hit her with it. He only hoped that Naruto knew what he was doing

"Gai, remember when I told you that I hoped you trained her well?"

"Yes?" Gai said/asked.

"Well, the shit as about to hit the fan. He's started fighting seriously" Kakashi nervously said.

Tenten watched as Naruto pulled out a set of three scrolls, each of them in a different color. One was brown, the other white and the third red. The brown one was attached to a kunai.

"Ready Tenten-san? This is not going to be pretty, cause I finally finished this move"

She swallowed hard at his words as he began the sequence. He rapidly bit both his thumbs before throwing the red and white scrolls in the air, unfurling them in the process, and smearing his blood along both. A faint shimmer of blue was seen extending from the end of each scroll following to his extended thumbs as the scrolls rolled back up. In the mean time, Naruto started going through several handseals at great speed, before slamming the third scroll into the ground.

"Secret Art: Triune Hunters!"

Once again, for a moment nothing happened as all but a few seemed disappointed. However, Naruto's team along with Team 8 and Neji all knew what was going on, Neji, thanks to his Byakugan and the others from experience. Tenten was simply nervous and worried as a strong pressure began building up, it being nothing more than a sudden release of a massive amount of chakra. However, the eyes of all of the spectators widened as the final effect of the jutsu became apparent as a trio of foxes manifested themselves from the elements. The first was a billowy white form that extended from the white scroll, visible only thanks to the color of the ground. The second, was a flaming red fox with orange eyes, incredibly reminiscent of Kyuubi burst from the red one. And finally the third rose from the ground, completely brown, it's hard earthen body devouring the third scrolls.

Jiraya watched, feeling like time had gone back to almost thirty years ago when Minato started learning to do seals. Naruto was just like him, practical, but very creative and capable of thinking outside the box. He felt ashamed for not being there for the boy and enraged at the stupidity of the villagers that harmed him. Jiraya was perfectly aware that he was out there keeping those who would hunt down Naruto for the Kyubi, but still he could only hope that the boy would find it in his heart to forgive him for not coming sooner. A life lived in hell wasn't truly worth much.

The crowd stood quiet in shock as Naruto took the sword in his right hand and pointed it towards Tenten while the thin strands of chakra went from his left hand to the three foxes.

"Now, let's get this party started!" he shouted, before smiling at his opponent.

Tenten drew out a small scroll and unsealed a fine looking katana from it, falling into a (to Naruto) unfamiliar stance. _'Do I play with her and humiliate her, or do I simply beat her down fast?'. _Naruto pondered for a minute as a kunai with an exploding tag flew his way. '_Fast it is_'

He quickly charged forth, the massive sword not slowing him down in the least as he moved into the reach of his enemy's sword. Tenten tried to stab him before he managed to bring the sword down, but found that the brown fox was nowhere in sight, and that her sword was no longer moving. Lookig down, she found the fox holding the sword down with it's stone jaws clenched tightly around it. She closed her eyes, waiting for the blow that was about to come.

"Do you yield?" came a cold voice, but there was no pain. She opened her eyes. The massive blade of the Kubikiri Houcho was an inch from her neck and the remaining two foxes were aiming at her heart. But neither of those two was what scared her into silence. It was a pair of brutally cold and calculated eyes that stared at her

"I asked, do you yield?" he repeated the question.

"H-hai" she stuttered. In an instant, the coldness from both voice and eyes vanished, leaving a calm but happy face. She fell down to her knees, exhausted, while Naruto looked untouched by the match apart from a few holes in his clothes. Dismissing the elemental foxes, he picked the girl up along with her sword and carried her off to the stands above while Hayate shouted "Winner Naruto Uzumaki"

Up in the kage box, all three looked astonished at the blond boy. All three cold have sworn it was Minato Namikaze standing there that one minute when he asked the question. There was no killing intent and it was still scary enough. Jiraya was also impressed by the boy's knowledge of seals, as the three foxes were created by nothing more than a powerful seal array, one he didn't know

"Sarutobi-sensei, you didn't by any chance teach him that?" he asked, not really expecting a positive answer

"No" replied a downright happy hokage "He made it himself with knowledge from a certain book I gave him"

Jiraya smiled for the boy.

"Sensei, have you told him about his...?"

"Not yet, but I intend to as soon as this part of the exam is over. It's about time he knew"

Jiraya sadly sighed

"I think he'll give you a chance Jiraya. He's a lot smarter than anyone would have guessed, but he's still the kind boy all of us here have grown to love"

Anko listened to the two talk, but for one reason or another, she had a rather good idea of whom they were talking about. _'Seriously just remove the whisker mark and he's a spitting image of him'_

She also felt very proud of Naruto, and, although she'd never admit it, she was thinking about him a lot recently. She was also deeply surprised to feel... jealous of the fact that he was carrying the weapon girl _'Why the hell am I feeling jealous now?' _She'd have to talk to Kurenai about it, but for now cheering for the blond gaki's victory was something she was more than willing to do

Naruto walked up the stands carrying Tenten before putting her down safely. As soon as he did that his team moved in to congratulate him. But before he did anything, he held his hand to the girl

"It's been a fun match" he started running the back of his head while smiling sheepishly "Would you mind sparring from time to time?" he asked in a very happy voice. Tenten looked at him strangely, but only nodded before smiling herself and shaking his hand. If anything, she had to admit that his smile was infectious. Gai took care of his student before nodding respectfully to Naruto, who simply smiled as he rejoined his team and received the due congratulations. He was, after all, going to the finals.

Before finally settling down to watch the next match, Naruto looked at the aged kage and his two companions who were both cheering for him, and as much as he was happy for making the old man proud, something about Anko's smiling made his heart flutter.

* * *

**Author's note: **The single longest chapter so far, and it's mostly due to the three fights shown here. There will be a few skipped fights as I really don't want to write every single one, but they will either be shortly described or written as a small paragraph. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, the fights within, and the new final form of his scroll jutsu. This was what I was planning originally, but I thought it would simply be waaay to powerful back there. Now, I used it as more of an intimidation tactic as I didn't want Naruto to rip her apart. And for those who are asking, he still hasn't used a single jutsu during the match, mostly because I found it more fun to write it this way and because except for Shadow Clone, it wouldn't have made the match any fun for him. Also, he didn't originally plan to even use the Triune Hunters final form but did it out of respect for his opponent.

Also, I'm kinda dropping in hints about Anko and Naruto being attracted to each other, but I'm not going to force it too quickly. I'm probably going to do something about that during the month break between the second and third part, which will be after the next chapter which will wrap up this part of the exam.

I'm also planning to pair up certain other characters throughout the story. Also, keep watch for various stuff I'll be dropping from the next chapter onwards!


	8. The Chunin Exams : Revelations

**Author's Rambling : **Hello everyone.. hope you enjoy this chapter as well, I'll try and keep the fights relatively short. Except Dosu/Chouji that is. Why? Because I think that one to be interesting because Dosu no longer has his gauntlet and has to rely on his original sound manipulation skills. Anyho, apart from that I'm showcasing some of the skills the other genin have so you have some idea about what's going to happen. I'm also making a diagram of sorts at the end of the chapter to point out how the matches will be going (the number of people isn't all that compatible with normal tournaments (as in there will be twelve finalists... for now at least))

There is one more thing I will point out. I personally find it hard to believe that after doing a bunch of c-rank missions, the genin teams have a problem facing the death of others, especially if the others are those that they don't know, don't care about or hate. The death of those close is something different however

You might find mention of one character from the canon that doesn't show up anywhere else in the story. It's just a small joke, since I find the man annoying :P

And as a final treat, I'm showing Naruto at _full_ strength against Jiraya later on

* * *

_Chapter 8 : The Chunin Exams : Revelations_

Out of all the matches that wold be fought that day, the one Naruto won would have the greatest impact. His first real display of skill left many stunned or speechless. The 'dead-last' and 'dobe' of his generation had not only beaten an older ninja, but had used something that was clearly a new and most likely self-created seal technique, something that wasn't seen from the times of the Fourth, while fighting blindfolded for most of the fight. And he didn't even break a sweat from it all.

Naruto on the other hand, took the attention in stride, joking with his friends and answering all questions pertaining his skill vaguely enough, that they couldn't actually learn anything from his answers. The exchange only lasted for a few minutes before Hayate once more got his bearings and announced the next match, the pairings now clearly visible on the screen.

_Ino Yamanaka vs _ _Merai_

"Will Ino Yamanaka and Merai enter the arena" Hayate loudly exclaimed, without coughing this time.

Said pair quickly descended. Chouji and Shikamaru wished Ino good luck, but the girl was worried. Merai was someone she knew nothing about, except for the fact that she was from Mist, and that she could only see her green eyes. Her body was covered by a flowing silver-gray robe along with a scarf that covered her face and a wide rimmed straw hat. A pair of plated leather gloves covered her hands. No tools or weapons were visible.

"Begin!" Hayate once more shouted, idly wondering if he should get it on tape for the next match, while he was jumping back.

Steeling herself, Ino pulled out a kunai, ready. She prepared herself to try and possess her enemy's body, but then she noticed a _dragon _heading towards her. She lost consciousness as soon as it struck.

Up in the stands, only three genin managed to figure out what happened, although the jounin had a much easier time. _Genjutsu_, and two in rapid succession. Naruto found himself analyzing the moves, and the simple but brutally effective logic that brought down Ino Yamanaka. The first one was completely seal-less, creating just enough cover to conceal the handseals for the second one, which created something in her mind, while Merai shunshined right behind her and slammed the butt of her kunai into base of her skull, instantly knocking her out.

'_Shit, that girl doesn't play around_' Naruto worriedly thought. At those speeds, if he didn't have his additional sense, he wouldn't be able to win.

"Winner Merai" Hayate quickly announced as the girl disappeared in a swirl of mist, reappearing in the stands next to her two teammates and sensei.

'_Now there's a good idea_' Naruto thought, inwardly smiling and making plans to make his own version. The next match was announced as soon as Ino was taken from the arena by her two teammates.

_Dosu Kinuta vs Chouji Akimichi_

Within the arena, Dosu was sweating bullets. Without his beloved gauntlet to amplify his skills with sound, this battle would be _a lot_ harder. Thankfully, his opponent was weak against his attack... of course that means nothing if he's out before he can land a blow on to the fat boy's body.

Chouji was somewhat unsure of his enemy. He hadn't seen him fight, but he heard from Naruto about him. Out of all the rookies, Chouji was the person that probably spent the least time planning and analyzing, but he was no fool. His family helped his training, and Shikamaru had helped him with planning. It wasn't much, but it would do.

"Begin!"

Dosu immediately jumped back, trying to figure out how to best strike his opponent as he pulled out a kunai. His opponent eyed him warily as cocked his hand back

'_Partial_ _expansion_ _jutsu' _Chouji mentally commanded as he molded his chakra. It was one of the points his father hammered in, to use his clan jutsu without any handseals or words, otherwise it's easily predicted.

His enemy had little time to move as a massive fist suddenly descended on his position. He rolled to the left, only to get slammed into the wall by the oversized appendage. Dosu cursed, loudly uttering a string of obscenities as he dug himself out from the human-shaped hole in the wall. He had relied too much on his gauntlet and now his skills deteriorated. _'No matter, I still have a few other tricks' _he mused as the bandages that covered his face fell off to reveal.... a perfectly normal face and a different colored eye. Up in the stands a certain pair of genin from sound had their eyes twitching.

The young Akimichi was getting nervous. His main strength was taijutsu, with only the academy techniques as backup. He inwardly cursed and promised himself to learn a bit more outside the clan techniques he had learned so far. Seeing that his opponent was up to something, he changed his plan. Quickly reducing his arms to their normal size he pulled out a kunai with an exploding tag. He had actually asked why he needed it before the exams started. A quick distraction was all he needed.

Dosu was surprised when Chouji stopped using his arms to try and hit him. _'What the hell is he doing?'_

His thoughts were soon answered by the hissing sound of a kunai flying straight at him. He rapidly rolled to the right, dodging the explosion only to run into another. He barely recovered, only to see a giant ball rolling towards him. He tried to move, but it was too late as Chouji rolled over him, the sheer weight of the body slamming him into the ground with many, _many _broken bones. He had failed... again. '_Thank Kami that I got a good deal this time round..._' he thought as his consciousness faded. The last thing he heard was the proctor announcing his opponent's victory.

Quite a few were surprised at Chouji's victory, and a veil of silence covered the arena before the sound of two pairs of hands clapping could be heard. Naruto and Shikamaru were congratulating their friend, quickly joined by Asuma, Sasuke, Sakura and all the others. Chouji smiled sheepishly before climbing up into the stands to a congratulating crowd.

After Dosu got shipped out of the arena by the medics, Hayate one more walked in, waiting for the screen to show the next pair

_Sanmaru Tokai vs Kankuro Subaku_

"Will the contestant 'cough' please come into the arena" Hayate announced as the two nin slowly walked down. Since this was the first match without participants from Konoha, everyone watched carefully.

Both contestants took their time to study each other as the entered the arena. Sanmaru was a wiry youth, barely twelve, but lithe and agile. The two kunai strapped to the arms of his brown leather jacket were apparently the only weapons he carried. Kankuro was unconcerned by his brown-haired opponent, although the menacing red eyes were something that at least mildly concerned him.

Sanmaru lazily observed the nin dressed in what he could only describe as a 'catsuit'. The wrapped up bundle on his back on the other hand might be something to be concerned about. He smirked evilly as he pulled out the kunai.

"Begin!"

And... nothing happened. Both parties stood perfectly still, waiting for the other to move first. With another smirk, Sanmaru started going through handseals. Deliberately slow. Kankuro watched his enemy suspiciously, trying to figure out just what the hell was he doing. His eyes widened when the earth of the arena began crumbling as a large draconic head rose. A pair of topaz yellow eyes were starring at him menacingly as the dragon head roared and began spitting balls of mud. Silently cursing his own stupidity, Kankuro dodged the balls, opting to throw a hail of poisoned senbon at his opponent, planning to keep his _other_ weapon a secret for as long as possible. He also cursed himself for not carrying the second one to this part of the exam.

Sanmaru was having the time of his psychotic life. If there was one thing he truly enjoyed doing it was fighting. And killing. And a few other even less than sane things. Unlike his older sibling Mikashi, he had no issues when it came to killing people. And he was damn good at what he liked doing.

With an insane smile his arms began moving at crazy speeds as he flashed through handseals before slamming his hands into the ground

"Earth Release : Obscuring Pillars!" he shouted as a large number of two feet thick stone pillars rose from the ground. There was no more than a meter of space between pillars, just enough for a certain psychotic nin to keep dashing through. Kankuro cursed yet again at underestimating his enemy. The boy was no pushover, and by the way he started moving, using the pillars as a running surface, he'd be hard pressed to keep up.

_'Time to start cheating' _He jokingly thought as he pulled a substitution jutsu with his bundle. While seemingly nothing happened, he was already putting a plan into motion. One of the tricks he managed to pick up from his brother without the red-head knowing it, was the 'Third Eye', which he used very well in combination with his puppets. It also made the trick he was using now easy. Sanmaru kept jumping from pillar to pillar, and if he wasn't safe inside the bundle with his chakra suppressed, he'd be worried.

_'Just let the little psycho get close enough. The kid's almost as crazy as Gaara.'_

Waiting for the perfect moment to strike, Kankuro almost missed the fact that one of the pillars went crashing down on him. Sanmaru laughed as he leaped to pierce Kankuro's throat... only to hit hard wood. The insane smile instantly faded as a barrage of senbon, poisoned senbon in fact, flew out of Kankuro's mouth and slammed into his chest. Within a second, Kankuro's face peeled off, only to be replaced by that of a wooden puppet. Sanmaru fell to the ground, dead.

"Winner Subaku Kankuro!" Hayate shouted as a team of ninja moved in to clear up the arena for the next match and remove the corpse of Sanmaru Tokai. A few people were mildly concerned at the killing, but most of the genin didn't as much as blink. Death was a part of their lives, one they knew they'd all face eventually

For the first time, silence was the aftermath of a match as Hayate once more prepared to announce the next pairing

_Nakai Kistugen vs Gaara Subaku_

But before the match could start, Nakai shouted

"I forfeit!" As much he wanted to fight, Nakai had the gruesome opportunity to see just _how _Gaara fought in the Forest of Death. He knew he stood no chance of surviving, regardless of how good his sword skills were. Being crushed in sand was not on his 'to do' list. Gaara looked disappointed and murmured something about Mother wanting blood. Thanks to his chakra enhanced hearing, Naruto shuddered at the comment. For some reason, the idea of calling a hundred meter tall bloodthirsty raccoon demon 'mother' was disturbing.

Coughing again, Hayate announced the next match

_(Same time, ANBU Headquarters, Interrogation and Torture division, Prison Cells)_

Wind howled through the darkened corridors of the underground prison level of the infamous ANBU headquarters. The I.T. Division that ran this part of the building kept the place in optimal condition for breaking prisoners, something that made their job much easier.

At the same time with the preliminary matches in the Forest of Death, a trio of shadowy figures moved along, checking each door.

"Number 16" muttered one of them, a deep male voice belonging to a man in his early twenties wearing an eagle mask

"That's Mizuki.. we don't need him right now" commented a female voice this time. The cat masked ANBU continued to the next cell "This is the one we're looking for."

The remaining two nodded as Cat opened the door. Inside was an... unusual cell. Normally, prison cells here only had the essentials, a small surface for sleeping and a hole for waste. However, this cell, along with several others were kept for prisoners who were kept here for their own protection for the time they needed to be off the face of the earth. The occupant of this cell was given a decent bed, along with a desk with a chair, a small lamp and a large stack of books, with subjects mostly concerning medicine. The occupant was one Yakushi Kabuto, medical prodigy and unwilling spy, much in thanks to a seal placed on the back of his neck by his former 'master' Sasori of the Red Sands, only to have it changed by Orochimaru. The seal had a simple effect. One a keyword was uttered along with the addition of small amount of chakra, the bearer of the seal was placed under the direct control of it's master. Outside that, the person remained completely normal. And to make things worse, the seal was near-impossible to detect. Had they not searched his entire body for seals, they wouldn't have found it. If it weren't for Orochimaru's records from his time with the ANBU, it wouldn't have been possible to identify it.

The silver haired youth happily turned to his visitors, a kind, polite smile gracing his lips as he recognized his visitors.

"Cat, Badger, Wolf" he waved his hand from his chair as he removed his glasses and placed them on the desk "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" he asked in a kind tone.

"We might have something of interest for you" Cat replied with a small smile under her mask.

_(Forest of Death, The Tower Arena)_

Naruto was bored out of his mind. The past several matches have been anything but entertaining, and he couldn't even read his book or study the scrolls he had on him. He thanked Kami for managing to finish the small job he was left with before the fights.

Shino had managed to beat Chukai Tork with out even breaking a sweat by draining his chakra. Shikamaru downright outsmarted Kin Tsuchi by slamming her head into the wall, even if she did manage to catch him in her bell-induced genjutsu. Temari Subaku beat the daylights out of Zaku Abumi. There were only two matches left. He silently prayed that Sakura didn't end up fighting against Neji.

Hayate idly watched as the screen flipped through the four remaining names, finally stopping on...

_Sakura Haruno vs Shin Tasai_

_'Well, shit' _thought the entire team 7, Kakashi included. The genin because the teen looked imposing, and power was literally rolling of of him. Kakashi on the other hand because he finally recognized the boy. Shin 'Deathbringer' Tasai, probably the only genin in the shinobi world with an entry in the Bingo book. A taijutsu expert rivaling Lee, except for the fact that he can use chakra. Unconfirmed reports place him with a lightning affinity. Over a hundred confirmed kills of genin rank, twenty of chunin and even one jounin. He sadly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, no one will hold it against you if you decide to surrender this match."

Sakura looked up to him, but what he saw surprised him. The look of burning determination he had only seen in Naruto.

"I know. But I'm still going to fight" she calmly answered as she descended into the arena.

Shin, her opponent, was perfectly calm, his look emotionless as he watched her. He was dressed simply, a pair of black cargo pants and a gray muscle shirt, along with ninja sandals. No kunai or scroll holsters.

"I commend your courage" he said in a polite tone "but it would not be wise to fight me. You could die"

Sakura sighed. He was perfectly right, and a part of her believed that she could probably die in this match. But then again, she had accepted that possibility long ago when she made her first kill.

"I could die here, or on any other mission. I accepted those odds when I became a shinobi" she replied in a calm voice. Her determination crushed her fear, and the desire to prove herself to her teammates and sensei did the rest.

Shin laughed. It was a warm and kind laughter, one which you wouldn't expect from a cold killer.

"Good. Let's fight then!" he said while still laughing.

"Begin!" Hayate shouted while jumping back. The two of them both dropped into stances.

_'So, how do I fight him? Kakashi-sensei obviously thinks that this guy is powerful, and he's probably right. No weapons, so that means... either ninjutsu or genjutsu, and according to his build taijutsu, but most likely the last. Damn, the one area I'm weak in.'_

Not trusting her limited skills in taijutsu, she pulled out a kunai in preparation for the attack. Seeing her hesitance to attack, Shin charged forth, preparing to slam his palm into her gut. Sakura barely managed to dodge the attack by twisting to the right, and the follow-up blow by his shoulder. Shin kept the pressure on her as he chained blow after blow, leaving just enough space for the girl to have a chance at dodging. What Sakura didn't know was that Shin respected her determination and sheer grit. And that he loved to fight a worthy opponent, which he considered her to be.

Dodging blow after blow, Sakura actually managed to lay a few glancing cuts to her opponent, but in return, her left arm was completely numb from a single dislocating blow to the shoulder.

_'No jutsu anymore, just pure taijutsu. My left arm might as well be gone' _she thought as she watched for an opening in Shin's defenses

Kakashi was, for the umpteenth time this day, impressed by his team. Sakura was fighting far better than he thought possible. She certainly stood no chance against this opponent, even if he was holding back his strength, but even so, it was impressive. He might not have pressed them all into training like he should have, but they were still good. In fact, Sakura actually had talent for taijutsu and fighting with kunai.

Sakura decided to go for her last resort, the fencing kunai. She leaped back, barely managing to unseal one of them from the scroll and once more taking up her stance. She wouldn't stand down or surrender. Not anymore.

Several figures smiled at her actions. One was her opponent, another two were her two teammates joined by her sensei.

'_She just doesn't give up. All the better_' Shin mused as he waded past her elongated kunai.

Sakura was now low on chakra, she could probably maintain the chakra shell around the blade for a few more minutes, but that was it. After that she'd fall unconscious. Her mind was racing, desperately grasping at ideas, until she remembered Naruto's match some time ago

'_What exactly did he do? He made the shell around the kunai break off... wait, I could cut off the flow of chakra while swinging at the enemy... that should break it, right?_' she desperately thought as she kept dodging and trying to slash her enemy. Praying for this last move to work, she channeled the last remains of her chakra into the blade, before swinging it at Shin's chest.

Shin was having fun. Pure, unadulterated fun, the likes of which he hadn't had in years. While he had to go at a third of his actual strength, the girl was going all out pulling every trick she knew, and a few she probably didn't even figure out she was pulling. When she slashed at him, his smile faded as a blade of pure chakra broke off from the elongated kunai, heading straight for him. He grunted as the blade cut straight through his clothes and into his flesh, leaving a centimeter deep gash in his skin, now bleeding. Sakura was barely conscious.

"Proctor, the match is over" Shin said in a calm voice as Sakura nearly fell onto the ground, only to be caught by Shin.

"Winner Shin Tokai" Hayate announced, as the medics picked Sakura up from the red-haired youth.

Naruto watched him in interest. First he gave Sakura a chance by holding back, now he didn't finish her off when he was supposed to be a cold blooded killer. '_Interesting indeed_' he mused. There was only one match left, and a few people cringed when they saw the names.

_Neji Hyuuga vs Hinata Hyuuga_

Hinata shakily started going down into the arena, as her teammates and sensei wished her luck. She made a short look at Naruto, only to see that he noticed and silently mouthed something.

'Kick his ass' she recognized the words and smiled, a bit of her confidence returning.

From his perch, Naruto watched the two enter the arena. He was well aware that Hinata had a crush on him, but that was most likely a passing thing, although that didn't mean he couldn't cheer for her. The girl had a lot of talent, but was almost afraid to use it. He could only hope that she would fight properly now.

Neji watched his cousin walk towards him with no small amount of hate. He 'disliked' the main branch of the Hyuuga family with a passion since his father died. And he blamed the girl in front of him for it. To his surprise, the normally shy and withdrawn Hinata was currently standing in the most aggressive of the Juuken stances either of them knew.

'_So she has some backbone. Not that it will help her_'

"Why do you even try Hinata-sama? Fate has decreed that you will be defeated here" he said in a cold emotionless tone. Hinata winced, but didn't reply.

Both Kurenai and Gai watched the match with growing horror as Neji proceeded to nearly kill Hinata, who to his surprise gave nearly as good as she got, leaving her cousin mostly disabled, but not injured unlike her. Naruto growled as he gripped the stone of the railing, his fingers making the structure crack from the pressure. How could that idiot do something like that to his _family_? Hinata was probably the kindest person he knew, what could she have possibly done to deserve such hatred?

'_How little people appreciate things until they lose them. I never had a family, but that fool has a cousin that cares for him very much, and what does he do? Besides, aren't branch members of the Hyuuga clan supposed to have a control seal? Does he understand that she could have used it the moment the match started to kill him?_' he mused sadly as the match continued. Hinata had blood leaking from her mouth by now and was barely standing.

Neji was once more surprised. His 'worthless' cousin was actually far better than he expected. In fact if she wasn't aiming for non-lethal spots unlike him, he wold have probably gotten badly wounded by now. So why didn't she? She could have also used the seal that would have fried his mind within seconds, yet he didn't even consider it... they both panted as they made a short brake, eyes focused on each others, each waiting for the other to move first.

"Why?" Neji asked between pants, his analytical mind for the first time stumped at the behavior of the young clan heiress. She looked at him sadly. For a moment he growled, thinking she pitied him, but quickly realized otherwise. _'What could she possibly be sad about?'_

"Because I miss my brother" she said softly as the melee resumed. It finally struck him what she meant. While she knew how, she couldn't use the seal. She wouldn't. Just like she wouldn't harm him, even if it cost her her life. For the first time since his father had died, his eyes softened a bit. He still held a lot of pain and anger, but now there was a new feeling for his 'sister'. Respect

"I see" he replied in a monotone as he once more took to the offensive, this time avoiding any life-threatening blows, the rage that possessed him slowly receding. He did always love a good challenge and it seemed that Hinata would prove to be one.

The crowd was surprised as the match started picking up speed once more, the two locked in a majestic yet deadly dance as chakra visibly flared around them both. This time it was Hinata on the offensive, gracefully wading into his guard and finally managing to disable one of his arms with a quick strike to the pressure points on his shoulder. Neji managed to retaliate as she pulled away by sending a quick juuken blow to her left leg, bringing her down.

He was getting tired. The match he had expected would be one-sided had turned into a battle of attrition. He had decided before the match that he would keep all his tricks up his sleeve, hidden until the finals unless desperately needed. Proceeding to end the match, he bypassed her guard and placed three consecutive strikes on both her shoulders and her other leg, completely disabling her. Both nodded to the proctor before Hinata finally lost consciousness to her exhaustion.

"Winner Neji Hyuuga" Hayate loudly announced the victor of the final match while Neji watched over Hinata until the medics arrived to pick her up. He couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face in response to her own.

_(Next day, 6:00 AM, Uzumaki Residence)_

Rain yet again. Naruto was considering whether the gods had a sense of humor as he kept exercising his body while a hundred clones were practicing chakra control on the roof. Push ups were a generally easy exercise for him so he tried Kakashi's version, by doing it on one finger with weights on his back.

Although he seemed calm, his mind was racing, planning his course of action for the next month.

This year, the old man decided going against the usual public drawing of the pairings for the finals, leaving the pairs unknown until everyone was there.

But, as usual, his mind returned to current matters, such as studying the remaining three life seals in the book, acquiring more medical plants, studying new jutsu, and generally preparing himself.

He was also quite proud of his achievements during the past week. He survived in battle against Orochimaru while destroying the cursed seal that was placed on him, he managed to keep most of his abilities hidden while finishing his scrolls on time and even figuring out a way to brake a enslavement seal Ibiki asked him about, also providing him with the last detail he needed to brake another.

"So much to do, so little time.." he sighed sadly. Even Kyuubi stayed silent these days, though he was wondering why... the fox was probably planning that training he talked about. His musing were stopped by a loud knock on his door.

"Yes?"

"Orders from Hokage-sama" answered a familiar voice. _'Tiger...'_

He opened the door revealing the masked man, whom he knew as Tenzo. He almost smiled at the man for remembering that it wasn't wise to enter his home without permission as there wold be some unpleasant consequences due to the thorough sealwork placed inside

"You are being summoned to the Hokage's office Uzumaki-san" he explained quickly.

"Hai. Tell the old man I'll be there in a few minutes" he replied. Tiger nodded and left in a swirl of leaves. Naruto quickly closed the door, before summoning a few extra clones to pack everything up and activate the protection barriers. It was the first thing he made when he came home yesterday, a set of barriers that were meant to protect his work from others. With the security he had set up during the last month, there were precious few who could enter his home without his permission, but he still preferred to play it safe.

Drying off the sweat from his exercises, he kept releasing the clones ten at a time while dressing up. Finally putting up his read coat, he buttoned it up while sealing the sword into the seal on his arm.

'_Time to talk to Sarutobi_' he thought, wondering why he was summoned..

_(7:00 AM, Hokage's_ _office_)

The tension was palpable as Naruto entered the esteemed office of the Third Hokage. Inside were only two men, Jiraya of the Sannin and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the hokage. Both were apparently apprehensive of what was about to happen. Naruto was confused and concerned, no scenario he could fix up in his mind made sense of the situation, so he decided to just go with the flow and hope things turned out of the best.

"Naruto" Sarutobi started in a serious, but worried tone "take a seat, I have a few things to tell you." _'And I can only hope that you don't hate us for the decisions we made' _he sullenly thought. He could say that he was one of the few people who knew Naruto well, but even he couldn't predict the boy's reaction to the news he had to tell him.

Naruto sat down while studying the faces of both men. Both wore a concerned expression mixed with a hint of hope and pride.

"Naruto, you remember what I told you about your parents?" he asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow, curious at where this was going.

"That you couldn't tell me for my own safety but that they loved me very much?" he answered. Hiruzen nodded.

"The reason why I couldn't tell you was that your parents had many enemies, who wouldn't think twice to make their revenge on their offspring." he continued in a serious voice.

"So, who were they?" Naruto was getting impatient, the desire to learn just who his parents were was overwhelming. He accepted the story his Ji-san told him, but he had to know more. With a deep sigh, Hiruzen started

"Your father, was Minato Namikaze the Yellow Flash and the fourth hokage of Konoha, and your mother, was Uzumaki Kushina, the Crimson Wind and daughter of the late daimyo of Whirlpool country" he finished quickly feeling a pang in his heart at the emotions that the boy's face went through.

Naruto's mind was in turmoil. The fourth hokage was, his hero, the man he respected more than anyone in the world, the man who sealed Kyuubi into his body to save Konoha at the cost of his life and soul... was his father.

"So my father is dead" he said in a somewhat hollow tone "But what happened to my mother?"

Both Sarutobi and Jiraya sighed at the question. It was Jiraya that answered

"We don't really know kid, Kushina is listed as dead. She was in the hospital, barely alive from giving birth to you when one of Kyuubi's tails came crashing into the part of the hospital she was in. Her body was never recovered" he explained sadly.

"I-I.. see" Naruto stuttered as tears began welling up his eyes, and a soft sob escaped his lips.'_Gone. Both of my parents. So I truly am without kin_'

His tears kept flowing as he felt someone embrace him.

"It's okay Naruto, let it all out" he heard Sarutobi's calming voice as the dam broke completely.

Nearly an hour passed before he finally calmed down as his tears dried up. A cup of sake also helped calm his mind a bit, the burning liquid clearing his thoughts as it surged down his throat. A thousand questions swirled in his mind, the new discoveries finally taking root in his mind. The cogs that had slowed down due to the sadness that engulfed him once more started turning as his mind analyzed and put each piece of the puzzle together. The book on sealing belonged to his father, and that was probably why it made so much sense. Sarutobi most likely gave it to him, knowing that he would have the talent to understand it. Keeping his mother's name would attract less attention that his father's, meaning that the numerous enemies Minato made wouldn't hunt him down, and placing a numberof bodyguards would have only painted an even bigger target on him. Now that most pieces of thew puzzle were fitted in, one currently remained out. Why the hell was Jiraya there?

"Feeling a bit better?" Sarutobi asked in a kind voice

"Yeah, but it's a bit much to take in" he answered in a much calmer voice.

"Unfortunately, the news don't end there"

Naruto closed his eyes and steeled his will.

"I'm ready for it" he replied

"I'll explain the rest Sarutobi-sensei" Jiraya said in a quiet tone, and Sarutobi nodded.

"I have a bit to say, and I ask you to listen to what I have to say before you say anything, okay?"

Naruto nodded. With a deep sigh, Jiraya began

"First of all, you should know that I'm your godfather." Naruto's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to ask a question, but closed it quickly. "I was also your father's mentor when he was a genin and much later. I promised him that I would watch over you as best as I could. Sadly enough, that proved to be difficult, as your burden also made you a target for a certain group of people"

Jiraya stopped for a moment, thinking how best to explain the following part

"The group is called Akatsuki. At this point we remain unaware of their objectives but have found out that they plan to gather and extract all nine bijuu from their containers. For the past sixteen years, they have been trying to locate every single jinchuriki, so far only failing to locate three according to my spies. Until a few months ago, you were among them. Sarutobi-sensei went to great lengths to conceal the fact that you were a jinchuriki when we found out about this, and I've spent the better part of the last thirteen years trying to hide your existence from them and to buy you some time to at least have a normal childhood, but I obviously failed at that. And I am deeply sorry" he finished, bowing his head in shame.

Naruto thought for a second, his mind once more analyzing, gathering the information and piecing things together.. His words made perfect sense, except for the small detail that somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered that he had seen Jiraya before. During some of the frequent visits to the hospital he remembered that he was there checking on his seal while they thought he was asleep and leaving a small gift afterward. It was usually something simple, like the frog-wallet that he affectionately called 'gama-chan', and that he now held in his bedroom, along wit the rest of the things that were important to him. as uch as he wanted at one point, he couldn't hate either of them. They made their mistakes, but at least they tried for his sake.

"I forgive you" he said in a soft tone "if you help me with my training" he added with a chuckle. Jiraya's head snapped up so fast that both Naruto and Sarutobi thought it would snap off.

He stared at the blond brat incredulously before bursting out in laughter, quickly joined by the other two.

"You... hahaha... really are their son Naruto" he said, finally calming down from his laughter 'Only Kushina and Minato would have had the guts to downright blackmail me into training'

"You've got yourself a deal Naruto. I'll tell you everything else tomorrow. Meet me at the hot spring, 9:00 sharp. See you later Sarutobi-sensei, I'm off to do some research" he said, the final words finished with a giggle which sent chills down Naruto's spine, while Sarutobi merely shook his head at his former pupil's antics.

"Now Naruto, there are two other things we need to discuss. First, is your parents' legacy" he said in a serious tone. Naruto sat up straight, carefully listening what the hokage had to say

"Your parents lived in a small estate between the Aburame and Inuzuka estates. It remains whole, but sealed, waiting for you to enter. Minato said that he and Kushina left a pair of scrolls there for you when you were ready. He also asked me not to tell you who your parents were until you could defend yourself from any would be assassins." Sarutobi explained, before chuckling "although I doubt he expected you to become this strong so soon."

Naruto returned the chuckle. While he didn't like it one bit, it did make a lot of sense.

"I think.... I think it would be wise to keep my parentage under wraps for a while longer. At least until the finals" he finally said, making the old kage nod proudly. He wouldn't have refused the boy his last name if he asked now, but this would be far better for both him _and_ Konoha.

"Would you mind though, if I visited the place? I don't intend to move in yet, but some of my father's scrolls are there and they would be helpful"

"Sure. I can take you there tonight. Just be here around eight. Now to the second subject. ANBU" he called, and two masked nin instantly showed up. "Get me Neji Hyuuga and Shikamaru Nara"

"Hai" they both said simultaneously before vanishing.

Both sat quietly, Naruto opting for another saucer of sake before the two other genin arrived. Within minutes, the two ANBU returned with Shikamaru and Neji. Shikamaru looked calm, but a bit surprised at Naruto's presence and Neji was just plain surprised, but hid it well beneath a mask of indifference.

"You called us Hokage-sama?" Neji asked in a polite tone, curious as to why he was summoned and what Naruto of all people was doing here.

"Have a seat you two. Shikamaru, you are aware why you were called here." he said in a _very _serious tone, Naruto instantly focused, listening intently to whatever was about to happen.

"So these two get the job. Can't say I'm surprised even though it's troublesome" Shikamaru answered in a lazy drawl "Will you explain?"

Once more, Sarutobi shook his head, this time at the laziness that seemed hereditary in the Nara clan. Knowing three generations of said family, he was now completely sure of that

"By combining the knowledge gathered from the two people you brought in Naruto, along with information from Jiraya's spy network we managed to ascertain that Otogakure, under the leadership of Orochimaru will invade Konoha during the finals of the chunin exams. Also, Suna has been mobilizing a number of troops recently, and I believe they are likely joining in as well"

Naruto kept thinking at ever word that he heard, his mind now perfectly calm.

"So, when do we put in the preemptive strike?" he asked in a serious tone, while all three looked at him in surprise "What? We can't really just wait for them to attack, can we? It only makes sense that we weaken them as much as possible before the invasion actually begins, and I'm betting that if Suna is joining in, Orochimaru plans to use Gaara, or more precisely Shukaku to help him"

The astonishment never left the three at the perfectly accurate description of what Jiraya, Sarutobi and Shikamaru expected Orochimaru to do, along with the comment about a preemptive strike

"Y...yes" Shikamaru finally said "as you so well explained, we intend to weaken the Sand teams during the exams, and with the information from the former Sound team that joined us, we can prepare for the invasion by luring them into a trap. The pairings for the matches are fixed up so that those that are capable can fight the trio from Sand. Shino will be facing Kankuro, while Sasuke has been paired with Gaara and I have been paired with Temari. These pairings make sufficient sense that no one will make a fuss about it and reveal what we know. Neji, you and Naruto will be fighting the first match. Make it a show, but don't hurt each other badly, we need you both for the battle that will follow. Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are focusing heavily on training the two, while other sensei are helping their teams."

Both nodded. Shikamaru was pleased that he finally finished explaining, and could do something constructive, like watching clouds

"Hey Ji-san, I have a question for you" Naruto slowly said, both other genin watching incredulously at the blunt disrespect he showed for the Hokage, but since he didn't even react to it, said nothing.

"Yea Naruto?"

"Why did you choose us of all people? I mean, I understand Shikamaru, he and his dad are the best strategists in the village apart from you, but why Neji and me when there is probably no reason for us to know all this?"

Neji once more looked surprised, wondering why he didn't ask themselves the same question, and figuring out just how much he had underestimated the blond's intelligence. Shikamaru and Sarutobi smiled.

"Because this is your first mission as chunin" Hiruzen quietly explained "All three of you have shown all the skills necessary for a chunin, along with good leadership skills and tactical capacity. As such, you are now _unofficially_ chunin, to be promoted after the invasion. During the battle that is certain to come, you will be leading teams to defend Konoha as needed. Gai, Kakashi and Asuma have been notified of your status and will confirm it when needed. You are all dismissed, go and train for the finals"

As the three started leaving, he remembered something

"Naruto. I have a commission for you"

"Commission?"

"Yes. Since your friend Kin, who by the way is now living in your apartment building along with her two teammates, informed me that the so-called Sound Four, Orochimaru's elite bodyguards, specialize in barriers, I need you and Jiraya to come up with a way to break them."

"Barrier breaking, eh? I'll see what I can dig up. Oh, and thanks for leaving me my dad's notes to work on" he added with a smile as he left. Sarutobi could now finally sit down and relax. The day went a lot better than expected, now he could finally relax a bit and...

"Hokage sama, while you were in the meeting, this paperwork piled up" his secretary came in pushing a cart, loaded with piles of paper.

Suffice to say that the Hokage spent the rest of the day considering alternate uses of various fire jutsu.

_(8:30 PM, Clan District of Konoha)_

Two shadowy figures silently moved towards the estates of the Aburame and Inuzuka families. The two fortified holds were probably the only ones that were built more to protect outsiders rather than those who live inside, as the insects and dogs weren't overly fond of uninvited guests. However, between the two holds was a forest, which the two clans used as a hunting ground. At the heart of said forest was a small estate surrounded by a tall stone wall. The two figures silently proceeded through the forest, unimpeded by the numerous beasts that inhabited it. The iron-wrought gates of the estate now loomed in front of them, the black bars completely covered in small golden seals which served both as protection and decoration.

"Wow" was all Naruto could say as he observed the simple family home, that was better protected than the Hokage tower. Being a seal master had it's perks.

"It sure is something. I still remember the day Minato first showed us the home that he had built for himself, Kushina and you. It was finished only a month before you were born. Come on, place a bit of your blood on the plate and push your chakra into it." he prodded him on, glad to give the boy what was rightfully his. Now that both of them thought about it, no one apart from the Inuzuka and the Aburame would ever notice if he came here, and Sarutobi knew that both were his supporters in the council, and would gladly play dumb as to his visits here, if for nothing else, to annoy Danzo and his supporters.

Absently biting his thumb, Naruto smeared his blood on the lock plate, while channeling his chakra into the seals. With a soft 'click', the gates opened to let them in, swiftly closing as soon as they entered. Naruto was taking in every part of the estate that had once belonged to his father and was now _his._ He had noticed that the walls had plates similar to the ones on the gate, made from wrought iron and covered in intricate golden seals, every couple of meters. He wondered for a second how did he manage to make so many, but reminding himself of all the benefits of Shadow Clones.

The estate was relatively simple. A large walled off field, with a two story house near the gate, leaving a large backyard. He wondered if the house had it's own hot spring, considering how frequent they were in Fire country. The small cobbled path that led towards the doors was surrounded by beds of flowers, which were, to his amazement in perfect condition, without any weeds. He once more blamed his father's knowledge of seals for this, as he had done similar things in his apartment. It was getting very interesting to compare his father's thoughts to his own, their apparently similar way of seeing things now becoming even more obvious. The house projected a feeling of warmth, the soft brown tones of the walls fitting quite well with the trees that easily reached the roof, probably granting shade to the path during day. The two of them walked in silence to the door, Naruto once more placing his blood on the door before entry. The mahogany doors opened to reveal a large corridor with polished wooden floors covered with silk rugs. The corridor continued opened into a large living room which overlooked the backyard. A large fireplace with a sofa in front of it seemed to be the centerpiece of the room. Along the sides, he noticed a pair of stairs leading to the second floor, and the numerous windows left the room glistening in moonlight. Along several small coffee tables, he spotted quite a few pictures, most of them of his parents. With a soft sigh, he decided against exploring the entirety of the house this night, opting to find the bedroom and sleep here tonight

"Ji-san, I think I'll sleep here tonight." he said in an equally soft voice. He could feel the aged Hokage nod behind him.

"The bedrooms are upstairs. Dare I suggest you use the master bedroom? Jiraya picked out the bed" he said with a near-silent chuckle which Naruto gladly returned. It had been a long day, and he had too many emotions in his head to think straight. He had found out about his parents, discovered that he had a living godfather, who was willing to train him, learned that there was an impending invasion, a likely war and unofficially became chunin.

Saying goodbye to his adoptive grandfather, he walked him off to the gates, before he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Back inside, he sleepily walked up the stairs. They converged at the top, leading to another door, which presumable lead into the second floor. The corridor that greeted him actually had sever other doors, three on each side and one straight in front. Heading to that last door, he opened it and found himself in the master bedroom. A massive four-post bed stood in the middle of the room, flanked by two nightstands on each side, a small lamp on each. The right wall was entirely covered by a large mirror, the reflection of the entire room adding even more to the sheer feeling of size in the room. To the left he noticed three large dressers, and between them a door. Also, he saw a small desk in the corner. But what brought him to tears lay in the corner: a crib. Minato and Kushina had prepared everything for his birth. A quick check revealed that the door led to a luxurious bathroom. Quickly brushing his teeth, he considered one of the things he noticed: there was no dust anywhere, like the whole place had been…sealed, which it probably was. He spat out the toothpaste before rinsing his mouth, and went back to the bed. Taking off most of his clothes, he carefully folded them and placed them on the chair next to the desk before lying down.

His eyes remained open for the better part of an hour, his mind refusing to settle down to the bliss of sleep. He couldn't believe it and actually feared that all of this was some cruel illusion. He was _home. _With the feeling of security that the knowledge brought, he closed his eyes and finally drifted to sleep.

Naruto woke up next morning to the rays of light which fell on his face. It had been years since he slept so peacefully, or felt so rested. With a groan he stretched his muscles as he got up. There was a lot of work to do today, but first of all, he wanted to explore this house a bit, before leaving. He silently decided to permanently move in here once the exams were over.

The upper floor contained nothing but bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom. After a short stroll, he got down to explore the ground level. He was impressed to say the least. The kitchen was something that wold fit in the palace of a king. A large room, half on the ground level, half beneath it, was the library, in which he saw thousands of books and scrolls on various subjects. One of the things he didn't see last night was a small walled off area, a private bath fed by a warm spring rerouted to it. After a while, he came across his father's study. It was a room of decent size, with a large desk. On the sides he saw multiple shelves, each and every one of them stock filled with scrolls. A short search revealed them to be a mixture of jutsu scrolls, reports, research materials and plans. However, it was the two scrolls on the desk that drew his attention. Two ornately decorated scrolls, tied with a yellow ribbon and a note attached to them.

'_For Naruto, from his parents_'

Naruto made a small smile and untied the ribbon. To his surprise, both scrolls slipped out of his hands as if guided by some invisible force and fell to the floor, unfurling in an X shape. His interest turned to shock as two ghostly figures appeared above the scrolls. A man and a woman. His parents.

He realized that this was a recording of sorts as he watched the two of them begin to move, Minato fixing up his coat and Kushina fussing over it.

"Is this thing working?" she asked in a somewhat annoyed voice. Her voice was naturally soft, he noted, but still had an edge beneath it, the result of years of fighting. He also noticed her large belly, realizing that was _him_ inside

"Yes love, it's working." Minato answered patiently "Now come, we're leaving this for our son"

He turned towards Naruto. A part of the boy wondered how the hell he knew where to turn.

"Hello son. We are both deeply sorry that you only get to see us like this. I wished for nothing more than to watch you grow up. By the time you even have a chance at watching this, I will be dead from sealing the Kyuubi into you, and from what the medics tell us, Kushina will most likely die from childbirth" He said sadly, tears visible in both of his parents eyes. Naruto teared up as well.

"Regardless, we wanted you to know that we loved you more than anything" Kushina now continued "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" she shouted while pumping her hand in the air. He couldn't help but laugh at their antics. He watched as Minato shook his head with his hand covering his eyes.

"Now, since you're here and reading this, there are a few things that you should know. First of all, I've left a few scrolls for you in the safe in my study. Most of them deal with the finances you inherited. Second, I would suggest you start reading any books you can find on the laws and politics of Konoha, ask the old monkey to help you out. You'll need them because as the former Hokage, I have a seat in the council which you inherit. And third, my research room is locatd in the basement"

Now it was Naruto's turn to grin wildly. The same council which made so much trouble.

"And should they doubt your ancestry" here both Minato and Kushina grinned " kindly remind them that both of us left blood samples with Sarutobi, Tsunade and Jiraya. That should be more than enough for you to prove things"

Suddenly, both went quiet, and Naruto noticed that Kushina was holding her belly, her face contorted up in pain. Minato first looked worried, then sent an amused look at Naruto

"I'd love to stay and blabber on, but apparently, you just chose to get born. Take care of yourself and know that we'll always love you" He tried waving only to get grabbed by Kushina

"STOP TALKING TO THAT DAMN SCROLL AND GET ME TO THE HOSPITAL!!!" she shouted as she grabbed his shoulder for support. The image of the pair vanished after that leaving the young boy in thought. '_Well, things are going to get interesting'_

_(8:30,Small plateau outside of Konoha)_

Kakashi and Sasuke stood facing off as they sparred. He was directly ordered by the Hokage to train the Uchiha boy as best he could and was told why. While he didn't like the situation, there was little that he could do but train the boy and make sure he was ready.

"You okay sensei?" Sasuke asked in an uncharacteristically caring voice. Kakashi could only smile. The boy had changed greatly, from a stuck up avenger, into a much kinder and caring man. Although he could still use some work around the edges

"Yeah, just thinking about something." he said with his usual eye-smile "Now get back to work!"

_(9:00, Konoha Hot Springs)_

Jiraya was having a good day. First of all, he had managed to get into the tree next to the hot spring unseen, using his transparency jutsu, then he noticed an abundance of rather attractive ladies. He was scribbling notes in overdrive. He had almost forgotten that there was a student he was supposed to train today, and probably would have, had he not felt something poking him in the shoulder.

He turned to face the person, only to find that there was no one there. Turning back, he found that his notes were gone.

"Nice work ero-sensei" he heard a jovial voice speaking from the branch above him, where he found Naruto sitting in his usual clothes, reading his notes. "But you got the measurements wrong"

Jiraya mumbled something about annoying blondes as he swatted the notes from Naruto's hands.

"So, when do we start with the training?"

Naruto's playful banter instantly vanished when Jiraya started grinning

"First, I need to see just how strong you are. Follow me"

With a short jump, both found themselves on the ground. Naruto followed Jiraya outside of Konoha, reaching an isolated training ground. The barren circular field surrounded by trees on one side, a lake on the other and finally a cliff face on the third was probably one of the most private training grounds in Konoha, well hidden from the rest of the world. Jiraya suddenly stopped and summoned what Naruto assumed to be a Shadow Clone.

"Alright gaki, I want you to fight this clone of mine. Don't hold back even a bit, he has half of my chakra and he's not afraid to use it" he quickly explained as he got back to a safe distance.

"Anything goes, right?" Naruto asked with a grin

"Anything" Jiraya replied.

Naruto immediately took a stance and began rapidly going through handseals

"Weight Seals: Release!" he shouted, as a small flash of chakra flared from his body

"Suppression Seals : Release!" this time, the flare grew stronger than before as a two suppression seals were deactivated. Finally, he unsealed the Kubikiri Houcho and prepared for combat.

For a moment the two figures stood in absolute silence, although if anyone was nearby, he or she would have probably fainted from the sheer amount of killing intent that was unleashed. Jiraya's clone tried to overpower him with it first, but Naruto easily returned that by using first his own considerable KI and then lacing it with Kyuubi's. On the sides the original whistled at the deed. Neither stopped as Naruto charged with his blade, intent on making it impossible for the near-legendary ninjutsu proves of the Toad Sannin to come into play.

The Jiraya-clone kept dodging and parrying the attacks with a kunai laced with chakra. There was no doubt about it, the fast swings of the massive sword, coupled with the boy's speed and constant addition of kicks into the mixture made standing long enough to use handseals impossible. However, what worried both the original and the clone was the fact that Naruto wasn't using his chakra to enhance his speed or to use jutsu. He seemed to prefer relying on his sword and his reflexes. What seemed even more fascinating was the fact that his eyes constantly darted over the clone, seemingly studying it, while the body kept fighting.

Jiraya dodged another overhead swing, only for it to be followed up by a kick which finally landed. Now, it was Naruto's turn to be surprised. _'So, a shadow clone that didn't break from one hit. I'll have to ask him how did he do it. But now, it's time to bring out the big guns'_

Without slowing down for an instant three clones joined in the fight, making the clone-Jiraya start using his chakra to move even faster in an attempt to dodge, although now he had just enough speed to use jutsu.

Naruto observed while fighting. He might not have the Byakugan, but training his skills to sense the use of chakra through Radiance revealed an interesting fact to him. Unlike him, Jiraya kept using the chakra to improve his speed and/or strength in short bursts. Thanks to his lightning fast reflexes, such a way would be far more efficient than constantly covering himself in chakra. He also noticed that Jiraya placed his hands in a single handseal _'Jutsu? Which one?'_

"Wild Lion's Mane_" _whispered the toad sage as his hair rampantly grew, before thick bundles of hair shot at great speeds, far to fast to be dodged by the nearest clones, wrapping itself around them and crushing them instantly.

"Shit" Naruto whispered as he sank into the ground, replacing himself with a clone which got attacked within seconds. Moving as fast as he could, he popped out behind the man, and prepared a Paralyzing Palm to strike into his back. As expected, Jiraya dodged with ease.

_'A single landed blow, he dodged almost every attack I tried. So, open attack don't work. A distraction then? Or multiple ones...'_

Jumping back to avoid a quick swipe from Jiraya, he returned to using his favorite jutsu.

Jiraya had already been going through handseals preparing a new jutsu.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" he shouted as he slammed his hands into the ground. Much to Naruto's shock all of his clones were caught, and so was he. The fight was over.

"Not bad kid" the original Jiraya commented as he dispelled the clone and the swamp "Can you tell me where you got it wrong?"

Naruto looked at him curiously at the question before thinking

"I overestimated my skills for starters. Instead of going for overkill from the start, I gave my opponent a chance to plan and observe my skills. In the end that cost me the chance to use my more powerful attacks. Also, I took too much time to make my plans and too long to execute them"

"Good. Now, what can you say about your skills?" Jiraya asked again, by now he was grinning. The boy knew his failings.

"My kenjutsu is good, but still has a lot of room for improvement. Ninjutsu is weak a I don't know many jutsu, but those that I do know are mastered to the point that I can do them without handseals or names. Chakra capacity is easily kage level thanks to the fox sealed inside me, and my daily training has brought my chakra control to about low-jounin level. Speed and stamina are over jounin level, that much I know. My fuinjutsu skills are growing at a rapid rate and at this point I probably know more about seals than anyone in this village except for you, Jiji and a few seal experts in ANBU"

Jiraya nodded, and began his own speech

"You got a few things wrong, and clear forgot a few things. Your natural speed and stamina are ANBU level at least, and aside from Sarutobi-sensei and me, you are the best seal user in town. Also, you failed to note that your reflexes have already reached super-human levels and that you can see without using your eyes."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at the last comment.

"Yeah, I kinda keep that a secret. You see, about two months ago, I started talking with Kyuubi, and he gave his word to help me with my training since I started taking all of this ninja business seriously. Among the things he taught me was Radiance, the ability to project ones chakra outside ones body but still control it when it's outside. The first form is a shell of chakra that extends to certain distance, dependent on skill and that serves as an artificial sixth sense. I'm as of yet unaware of the other forms"

Jiraya nodded. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Another chapter done. Frankly, I was unsure how to do this part, and I'd like to thank the fellow author whose name I really can't remember at this point (seriously, I can't remember) for the inspiration on the 'recording'. If you care to do it, send me a message and I'll gladly give credit where it's due.

Also, Naruto, while fighting at full strength, screwed up when fighting the Jiraya-clone, who wasn't even fighting at full power. In other words, Naruto is powerful, but Jiraya can still kick his but with ease. Likewise for the Snake Sannin

Anyho, enjoy read and review :P


	9. Interlude : Calm before the Storm

**Author's Ramblings: **Hello everyone, here's yet another chapter. I'm hoping that the quality of my writing is at least maintaining a constant level. You, the reader, being the only measure of that, leaves me a bit uninformed on the subject. But enough with the writer nonsense.

You might notice that I didn't translate the names of a few jutsu. Such as Shunshin, Hiraishin and Rasengan. Why? I prefer the way they originally sound, and the translations are mostly way too long. :P

**Reply to Wandering Maverick's review**

Fair enough, you raised quite a few very reasonable points.

To his lack of anger, I can fairly admit that that was most likely a screw-up, however, keep in mind that at that point he was emotionally exhausted from the previous discovery. (not an excuse, so don't bother commenting about it, it's just a fact)

As for telling. If you tell a young child, do you really expect the foolhardy youth that was Naruto to stay quiet about it? Information like that leaks easily, and should certain factions find out about it, they would gladly leak the information to say... Iwa just to make sure the kid bites the dust. And there wouldn't be _one_ assassin, but more likely a full assassination squad. Just because Konoha is strong doesn't meant that the others are joking around. Also, bluntly put there's a helluva lot of people who would like nothing better than to use the boy for their benefit (or painfully kill him. Orochimaru comes to mind on both. He got screwed over for the position of Hokage because of his father) if they knew.

The announcement you speak of, as I remember(could be wrong, my memory really stinks), nowhere in the cannon was it actually said that Sarutobi announced in public that the kid was the container for the Kyuubi. As far as I"m concerned, that info was leaked, and the resulting law kept the information under wraps. Scratch that, here's a direct quote from the manga, first chapter even:

"The only people that know that Naruto has the nine tailed demon fox sealed inside him are the shinobi that fought him 12 years ago"

The 'announcement' is a fanfiction creation as far as I can tell.

Also, who said that Itachi said everything to the Akatsuki? Bargaining chips, hidden agendas and the other stuff... Itachi isn't an idiot to spill all his beans, as it certainly isn't to his own benefit.

* * *

_Chapter 9 : Calm before the Storm_

It was insane. The training that Jiraya subjected him to had pushed his endurance to the limit. A hundred of his clones sparred with a hundred of Jiraya's in pure taijutsu... while levitating ten shuriken on their bodies each. The two originals however, where doing something else. Naruto was sitting and listening to the short lecture he was being given by the Toad Sage

"Before I start teaching you any jutsu, the first thing you need to learn is how to manipulate elemental chakra." finishing that, Jiraya pulled out a chakra tester, the small piece of paper used to test people's elemental affinities.

"One detail about it..." Naruto said with a mildly confused look

"Yes?"

"Something weird happened the last time I tried that" Naruto said and proceeded to explain just what had happened when he used the tester that Kakashi had given him.

"Do it again" he said shortly, hoping that new results would shed some light on the subject. Naruto pushed his chakra into the small piece of paper, watching as it got cut up into four, Unlike last time however, it was no longer the corners that got affected. Nearly a quarter of each piece was now either soaked, crumbling, crumpled or burning.

_'Damn. He actually has five affinities, although only one is fully manifested. If what he said about the previous reaction is correct, that means that the other are slowly manifesting themselves even if he isn't using them. And that means either a bloodline or...'_

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from the blond himself

"**You are quite correct pervert**" Naruto chuckled, his voice completely demonic.

"K-Kyuubi?" Jiraya stuttered. Naruto nodded. He noticed that the formerly blue eyes were now a slitted red

"**I borrowed Naruto's body for a few minutes to talk to you. I've spent the better part of the last six months studying the boy's body. Suffice to say, it was more than interesting. My presence has had certain... beneficial effects on Naruto's body"**

By now Jiraya had shed most of his fear, having replaced it by curiosity. While still suspicious of the demon fox, Jiraya was no fool. The seal that Minato made was reinforced by the Shinigami. Only an entity of equal or greater power would be able to remove it without killing hem both unless Naruto set it free. And it seemed that Kyuubi was more of a scholar than a warrior.

"Such as?" much to his surprise the demon sighed. Why did the foolish mortals have to be so damn curious? '_**Considering I'm not much better myself...**_'

"**His improved healing factor for one. The fact that he regenerates chakra faster than any other living being. His metabolism, which has over the years adapted, moving towards that of a demon rather than a human one"**

"Demon?" Jiraya asked worriedly "Don't tell me you are trying to..."

"**Don't worry needlessly, it's merely becoming more efficient as the years pass. Unlike demons, most mortal species waste a solid amount of nutrients and energy from food. How the hell do you think that the boy survived all those years on almost nothing but ramen?**" Kyuubi replied in an annoyed tone. Jiraya nodded

"What about the rest of his body? If his metabolism is adapting, what about his muscles and nervous system?"

His questions were met with a content smirk. Kyuubi was beginning to enjoy this conversation

"**It is good to see that you are more than just an aged perverted writer. His muscles are lighter than normal human ones, while still maintaining the same strength, the cardiovascular system has also been fixed up, resulting in his insane stamina. On the other hand, his brain and entire nervous system were... optimized for the lack of a better word. The synapses fire and the impulses travel at twice the speed they did before. This resulted in those insane reflexes you noticed. It only took time to train his mind as it wasn't ready to utilize them normally. Simply put, his entire body is being finely tuned into an well-working system **"

The feeling was somewhat surreal, Jiraya concluded. He was sitting and talking with one of the most powerful entities in existence, both fascinated by the blond boy one of them was possessing, and talking about him like he was a miracle of nature, which by most accounts, he probably was. The explanations that Kyuubi had given all made perfect sense. Unknown to them both, Naruto's conscience remained ever so close to the surface, listening intently to the conversation, his own curiosity getting the better of him

'_So, Kyuubi has been helping me all along. Not just the training and the advice, but he actually developed my body..._' he silently mused.

"So, did you put up the elemental affinities as well?" Jiraya asked once more

**"Honestly? No. He's always had them, my presence merely helped them manifest a bit. To be perfectly clear, none of the kit's skill or power was a gift. He _earned_ every single bit of it. His ancestry and my presence combined gave him the potential, but it was his work that built on it. Sigh, I have to go now, because if I stay much longer it will harm the boy"**

As suddenly as Kyuubi appeared, the presence faded away, leaving a somewhat startled Naruto. Jiraya absently noted that there was no demonic chakra the whole time.

"Well, that was unpleasant" Naruto dryly commented, causing a slight chuckle from Jiraya.

"It seems that tenant of yours is a rather interesting character" he added with a small smile. Naruto smiled back while shaking his head

"Kyuubi's crazy, but kind as well. I am proud to say that I've learned quite a bit from him"

"Heh... now let's get back to that elemental training. I want to get your Wind skills up to level"

Naruto groaned as he was given a small leaf and told to cut it in two using only his chakra. Already tired, Naruto summoned a dozen clones and began working on it along with them. It would be a long time before he saw his bed again.

Jiraya was sitting on a tree outside Naruto's apartment, quietly contemplating the boy he was now training, his own godson. His was a true enigma. At first he didn't really think much of his skills, as the first reports he got on him showed that he, apart from his stamina and the Shadow Clones he only had his ill-developed tactical talent to rely on. But when he saw him during the preliminaries of the chunin exams, he had seen a different young man. Calm, collected and brutally efficient when necessary while still kind and loyal. Just like his father. For a moment he wondered if it was Kyuubi's help that made his so strong, but he banished the thought when he remembered how much time Naruto spent training daily and the sheer determination that literally oozed out of him. It was infectious. He had originally planed to spend about four hours sparring with him and help him out with his jutsu, but the training session lasted nearly twelve hours straight! And what even more surprised him was the fact that he enjoyed himself the whole time. It wasn't only him teaching Naruto. The blond had pointed out several flaws in his own style, openings that he himself failed to notice, and under suppression seals, Naruto had actually proved to be a challenge. The question remained however, why was Kyuubi so dead-set on helping the boy? The whole thing made no sense, as he couldn't figure out what the fox wanted.

The apartment Naruto lived in was quite interesting as well. Decades of practice allowed Jiraya to remotely study the various barriers that were stacked through the walls of the boy's home. Privacy barriers, making any sounds or scents undetectable from the outside. A variation of one of his own seals, that made any writing unreadable from the outside, reinforcement barriers within the walls, and finally a full-scale protection barrier around the entire apartment, keeping any and all unwanted visitors out. Most of them basic to advanced barrier seals, but masterfully combined into a single security system that he would be hard-pressed to improve.

He had to admit though, Naruto was the ideal student, hardworking, talented, but not arrogant, dedicated, but not obsessed... and with a massive chakra capacity that just kept growing, thus the constant chakra control exercises, to keep both in balance.

Shrugging and shaking his head, he finally gave up on trying to understand the blond headache that had just gotten to sleep. Once more looking through his notes, he giggled perversely before leaving. There was research to be done.

Clouds once more began to gather over the twilight skies of Konoha, an eerie symbol of the coming storm. Two shadowy figures slowly walked towards Konoha. The two guards fell asleep as they passed them by, completely undetected in the darkness.

"Are you certain about this?" asked a distinctively male voice. The other figure nodded

"We agreed to do it." he replied "We will only observe for now"

With another nod, both figures faded into the ill-lit streets of Konoha.

Unfortunately for Naruto, sleep simply wouldn't come. He rolled about his bed, unable to find a comfortable position. In reality his mind was too busy working through the various pieces of information and trains of thought to go to sleep now. But whatever his subconscious mind was doing, a large part of his mind was thinking of a certain purple-haired kunoichi, before all those thought were broken by a loud knock on his door

_(Forest of Death, same time)_

A soft sneeze was heard from one of the two occupants of a small camp in the middle of the forest. A pair of friends, namely Kurenai and Anko were sleeping outside after a long period of training. After seeing the rate at which the blond jinchuriki improved, she felt the need to keep up. Kurenai kept smiling the entire day after she mentioned the 'blond gaki'

_'I wonder if she realizes what she's feeling?'_ Kurenai thought as she watched her crazy friend bite her favorite food, while chatting about everyday things.

Anko did her best to steer conversation away from the one subject she ironically thought about the most. Naruto Uzumaki, and unless she was badly mistaken, Namikaze.

"Still thinking about that blond boy?" Kurenai teased, causing Anko to choke on the dango she was eating. The raven-haired woman laughed at her friend's predicament. After calming down, Anko let out a sad sigh.

"I don't know what to do Kure-chan. I can't stop thinking about the damn brat, and I actually felt _jealous_ of a girl he carried" she admitted sadly. While she didn't want to admit it out loud, she respected Naruto quite a bit. The fact that he endured the harsh torment of the village for years without breaking or changing that much was something she respected and liked about him. Come to think of it, she liked a lot of things about the blond.

"Do you like him?" Kurenai asked as she moved closer and started massaging her shoulders. Anko instantly tensed up at the question, wondering if her friend knew how to read thoughts. She nodded in response.

"Then why don't yo talk to him about it?" Kurenai asked once more, her hands moving to gently hug her friend, hoping to grant at least some amount of comfort_. 'If he hurts her...'_ she inwardly threatened, thinking up fates no man would ever wish for. She really wanted to help Anko. The snake charmer, as she called her from time to time, was a much kinder soul than her outward appearance would ever show, and only a few people know the real her. The hokage, who most probably saved her life after the fiasco with Orochimaru, Ibiki, her boss at I.T., her and now Naruto.

Anko was afraid. Deathly afraid in fact. The betrayal of her sensei, the man she loved as a father had broken her. It took years before she would let anyone back into her heart for the fear of being betrayed again. Almost every bit of her wanted nothing more than to close up and isolate herself. But something told her that Naruto wouldn't hurt her. Or more accurately, the sentiment was that he'd rather chop off his right arm than harm her willingly. He had willingly offered a helping hand without for a moment caring for who she was. Even after finding out just who she was, he still didn't give a damn. A sad smile crossed her lips. There was some hope left after all. Gently lying back into Kurenai's embrace, Anko fell asleep. With an equal smile Kurenai joined her friend in sleep.

_(Uzumaki Residence)_

Naruto was staring at a piece of paper, the surprise clearly visible on his face. In return for helping house the defectors from Sound, the old man had arranged for the ownership of the building to be transferred to him, and there would be another resident added tomorrow night. From the outside, the apartment complex in which he lived looked rundown, but was actually well-maintained from the inside. The owner, an aged woman was apparently overjoyed to be rid of the building. She was one of the stranger characters that Naruto met in his relatively short life. Koshi Akame hated the world with a passion. There were only three things that she didn't mind. First was her cat, the second was tea, and the third was the 'stupid brat' as she constantly called him. During the ten years he stayed in the building, she not once said a kind word to him, but then again she never said anything kind to anyone. In return for helping maintain the building, she let him stay for free and do what he willed with his own apartment. Now he owned the entire building.

His other surprise were his three late-night visitors, who were now sitting on the couch in his living room. Kin, Zaku and Dosu, in their civilian clothes, sans any weapons, much to his surprise

"So, you're the new neighbors?" he asked in a joking tone as he placed tea and cookies on the table. It was the best he currently had to offer _'Note to self: buy sake as soon as possible'_

"Yeah" Dosu commented as he took the cup of tea offered to him. Naruto raised an eyebrow, surprised when the former sound-nin carefully whiffed the tea and murmured in approval "Hokage-sama made an offer for the entire team to move here in return for the information which we gave"

"That's nice" Naruto idly commented "I'll patch up the security in the entire building in a day or two, then we can get to fixing it up a bit. The old woman that used to own this place didn't really maintain it that much."

"Security?" Zaku curiously questioned before munching on a cookie.

"I'm an expert on seals, so to speak. I already secured my apartment, I'll just fix the same thing for every single apartment, and then some additional protections for the building itself" Naruto quietly explained, while the three watched him with a bit of awe. The only 'expert' on seals they knew was Orochimaru. Kin in particular remembered the seals he had used. A shiver went up her spine, Naruto Uzumaki was not a man to be messed with.

"Just one problem" Dosu added "We're broke, and the Hokage won't let us out in the open until the exams are over. Damn me if I know why"

"Not an issue" Naruto replied with a grin "Jiji sent over some cash as well, and I'm not exactly poor myself, so that should cover your expenses for the start. As for the house rules, keep the place clean and the building standing. And don't mess with the seals apart from what I tell you." he explained. "Now, if you don't mind, I've had a long day and could use some sleep. A few clones will drop by to start working on the protections."

With a short nod, he escorted the three guests out of his apartment, and after locking up and reactivating the barriers he went to get some sleep.

Naruto wasn't the only person who had a lot to think about. Kin Tsuchi returned to her apartment on the floor beneath Naruto's. It was a simple place, not overly decorated, but clean and most importantly it felt like home. She couldn't understand it. Otogakure had never felt like this, and what little she remembered of her time at an orphanage was even worse. The fact that confounded it all was that the place didn't feel safe because it was in Konoha, or because they were under the Hokage's protection. It felt safe because a certain young man had more or less promised them protection and support. And to top it all, he was a year younger that her, but acted and thought like a seasoned veteran who survived the Wars. Calm, methodical and often joking. Highly talented and driven. Those were a few traits she easily attributed to Naruto.

'_Boyfriend material_' she jokingly thought, and let out a girlish giggle, before simply smiling again. She was unable to be girlish in years. She was still unable to sleep however, so she settled for watching the sky from her bed loomed on the edge of sleep as the hours passed.

Had anyone dared to visit the isolated training ground that Jiraya and Naruto had confiscated for their use so early in the morning, they would have found something of an unusual sight. Twelve logs placed in a circle around a comfortably seated boy.

'_Alright, I've set up everything a you said. Now what?_'

'**Now I teach you the next stage of Radiance**' Kyuubi's ethereal voice replied **'Relax and feel the edge of the field'**

Naruto closed his eyes and wordlessly obeyed. Nearly a hundred meters away from his, he felt the edge of his extended line of sight. The primal forest around him was teeming with life. A combination of his chakra sensing skills and the shape-feeling field of Radiance give a strange look on the world. He focused on a small squirrel for a moment, it's bluish outline filled with a bright pale light which was it's chakra

'**Training now, squirrels later Naruto**' he heard the commanding voice in his head. With a sheepish grin he returned to his task

'_What next sensei?_' he asked. Kyuubi stayed quiet for a moment, slightly taken aback by the title in which Naruto addressed him. With a mental smile, he returned to teaching

**'Now, compress the field to fifteen meters without reducing the amount of chakra you let out'**

With a nearly imperceptible nod, Naruto continued. He slowly reduced the size of the sphere around him. It was much harder than he expected, but the sphere was slowly reduced to a fifteen meter orb

'**Open your eyes kit**' Kyuubi said in an almost happy tone. Naruto did so, and the sight which he saw awed him. He had felt the buildup of chakra around him, but the sight that greeted him was majestic. Around him was a now clearly _visible_ sphere of chakra, the world around him colored by the blue light that emanated from it. The light was distorted by the presence of so much energy. But that wasn't the most fascinating part. Naruto felt the space around him as a part of himself, an extension of his body as an awareness of the space around him, the likes of which he never felt before spread through his mind.

**'Now comes the skill I've been planning to teach you today...'**

Naruto grinned euphorically as the training started once again.

_(9:00 AM, Training hound #23)_

The entirety of team 10 had gathered to train once more under the watchful eye of Sarutobi Asuma. Both Chouji and Shikamaru decided that they didn't care if the other saw their skills, and that included Ino and Asuma as well.

Asuma had been shocked to discover that the normally lazy Nara had actually _trained_ on a daily basis since the end of the preliminaries. A small pat of his mind wondered whether it had something to do with the boy's mother, who was a fearsome figure by any means. He shuddered at the memory when she threw him, along with Shikaku, Inoichi and Choza out for getting drunk in the house. Bringing himself back from a trip to memory lane, Asuma returned to training his three genin, two of which had actually reached the finals. And according to his father, one was already promoted to chunin. Now, all that remained was to make sure the three were strong enough to survive the invasion that was sure to come.

"Asuma-sensei, why are you pushing us so hard?" Ino whined "I mean, I understand that we _all_ have to improve, but still..." she was instantly interrupted by a hand on her shoulder from Shikamaru

"As troublesome as it is, we still have to improve as much as possible. You never know when you might need to use your skills Ino" he kindly explained, trying hard not to reveal anything to his two teammates. He didn't like the deception, but his more logical side argued that it was a way of life that he had embraced. Ino sighed in annoyance and returned to her training, while Shikamaru sat down to start reading the copy of a scroll he made yesterday. Both his mother and father were proud that he started taking the ninja business seriously. However, it was the sobering reality of the situation that was coming that really forced the change. As much as he enjoyed lazing around and doing nothing, he would be _damned_ if he let anything happen to his friends simply because he was too lazy to put in the effort.

'_Nara clan Shadow Techniques_' he mentally read the tittle.

_(20:00, Isolated training ground outside Konoha_)

Jiraya was grinning at his chosen student. He had opted to teach him an unusual jutsu today, one that went very well with his knowledge of seals. Minato Namikaze was famous for his two signature jutsu the Hiraishin and the Rasengan. However he also created three additional jutsu, which were only known to a handful of people, mostly consisting of Minato, Kushina, Sarutobi and himself.

**Chakra Art**, originally a joke made by Minato during a formal dinner in the Hokage tower, was one such jutsu. He had made it expressly for the purpose of teasing his wife. A week after creating it, Minato accidentally discovered that the semi-solid forms of chakra the jutsu created could be used to make _seals_ without any medium. The only constraints on the skill were the imagination and creativity of the user along with the fact that the seals couldn't last long, thus making permanent seals impossible. However, **Chakra Art** was still _brutally_ efficient at what it did, as a twenty-men team from Iwa found out when they walked into a trap array and were instantly annihilated. Like most of Minato's jutsu, it relied on chakra manipulation along with theoretical knowledge, making it almost impossible to copy by any means.

And, not to his surprise, he was impressed by the speed at which Naruto learned the jutsu. What surprised him was the fact that Naruto managed to make nearly invisible seals by layering them on the earth's surface. He'd been hard pressed to dodge his seal attacks in spars ever since. A small array required only a small fraction of his mental capacity, and those small arrays were more than enough to keep him on edge.

After analyzing the blond's skills carefully, he came to a definite conclusion which he could present to the Hokage. While he could easily defeat Naruto in an open combat without even breaking a sweat, should he be given the time and knowledge to prepare properly... suffice to say that he really d_idn't _like the odds. With the kunai he made, the sword, the Radiance, his arsenal of simple, but highly versatile jutsu such as Shadow Clones, the Academy three, Underground Fish Projection, Hidden Mist and now Chakra Art, and a terrifying amount of talent in layering traps and making seals, Naruto was a tactical nightmare. If nothing he could probably outlast anyone under kage level if he played it carefully. The storage seals that were layered over his chest even kept an additional store of his own chakra, eliminating the need to rely on pills.

He carefully picked up the exhausted body of his student and carried him back to the apartment. He would need his day of rest to continue training. He reasoned that he could use some sleep as well. Since his progress astounded him so far, maybe it was time to teach him something somewhat more..._destructive. _If the shredded logs he found were any indication, his wind manipulation skills were improving at a good rate.

_(Next morning, Konoha Hospital, Psychiatry Ward)_

Sakura Haruno was mildly peeved when she found out that both Naruto and Sasuke were getting a personal trainer. Said state quickly vanished when she was informed by Kakashi that she didn't get hers yet simply because there was some paperwork to be settled before they could start. She however didn't have the slightest idea just what kind of paperwork it was. Her future sensei was not as fortunate.

Kabuto Yakushi had finally gotten used to being outside again. The feeling of the sun in your eyes was mildly unpleasant after spending the better part of two weeks in prison, for his own protection no less. He was quite amused by the results of said events. He had been assigned an ANBU bodyguard and sent back to the hospital to work. He could safely assume that Orochimaru had cut all ties with him. The moment he was captured, that much was certain, and he really didn't mind, as the enslavement seal was finally off. And to think, he'd get a new apartment. Not that he minded living with his adoptive father, he was a kind and caring man, and a medical genius. And to top it all, he was under orders to help train a prospective medical nin, which was something that intrigued him as a concept. Why did the Hokage put so much trust in him? He didn't know, but he wouldn't prove himself unworthy of it.

Carefully walking through the wards until she finally reached the office she was looking for, Sakura was now mildly worried at what Kakashi arranged for her. She did want to learn medical ninjutsu, but what was she doing in psych ward? Casting her fears aside she knocked on the door.

"Enter" came a polite voice from within. Sakura opened the door, she recognized the smiling face.

"Kabuto?" she asked in surprise, her voice almost failing her. What she did note, was that he looked different. He was calm, collected and kindly. Good qualities for a medic-nin. Before he seemed dangerous, _sharp_.

"Ah, Sakura, correct?" he asked, and the girl nodded "Good. Now come in"

"I never fully introduced myself the last time we... spoke. I am Yakushi Kabuto, and I will be your teacher in the arts of medical ninjutsu"

A spark of recognition lit up Sakura's eyes. Kabuto was the adopted son of Yakushi Saito, current head of the hospital and very capable medic, third to the legendary Sannin Tsunade Senjuu and her apprentice Shizune. And Kabuto was the man's adopted son, a rumored prodigy personally trained by Saito. In other words, she hit the jackpot, and a large smile crossed her lips.

"I'm honored Kabuto-sensei" she said with a small bow, to which Kabuto chuckled.

'_This just might be fun_' he idly mused as he got out a few basic scrolls for his new apprentice. He had already read her record. Excellent chakra control, good taijutsu skills, a calm and intelligent mind. He'd make her a damn good medic even if it was the last thing he did.

_(12:00, Hokage Tower)_

A silent sigh was heard from the office of one Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even with the help of numerous shadow clones, the many problems that the Hokage currently face were more than enough to tire him. He was half considering quitting the job and leaving it to his single present student to handle.

'_If only Naruto was about ten years older... ye gods is there no end to the paperwork?_' he thought as his aide came in with yet another pile of... you guessed it, paperwork. Thankfully he had something else to do as well. The new security reports were something quite interesting for him, as a small group of ANBU had checked out the entire village and marked any weaknesses that they could find, while one Shikaku Nara made plans to improve the defenses. He almost laughed when he noticed just how many people were preparing for the invasion under the pretext that they were either simply training with their team or preparing for the finals of the exam. A large batch of sealed order scrolls had been prepared and placed within the safety of the ANBU headquarters vault, ready for the last few days before the finals. He expected that it was the time when Orochimaru would attack and recent reports further proved that Suna would be joining in, as one of his spies confirmed a military buildup in Sunagakure. How little they knew into what they were coming. If everything went according to plan, the Elemental Nations would soon be reminded just _why_ Konoha was not to be trifled with. After completing a checkup on all the report, he returned to his favorite pass-time. Hokage or not, he was human after all.

(_13:00, Hyuuga Compound, Training Grounds_)

The sounds of flesh hitting flesh continuously echoed from the small yard/training ground. Hiashi Hyuuga, clan leader of the Hyuuga clan was feeling proud of both his daughter and nephew. Hinata had finally gotten over her shyness and insecurity and was now helping her cousin in his training as, he had to admit, a surprisingly good sparring partner. Neji had few comments on the mater, he was in fact very glad to have her helping him, and in turn he helped her development. Hiashi remained perfectly aware of a rather pissed of clan council who planned to remove Hinata from the position of clan heir and put the much younger and more easily manipulated Hanabi. He had _accidentally_ slipped a few scrolls into Neji's room and Neji of course played dumb. There wasn't time to play politics with war on the horizon.

_(Same time, Aburame Clan Hold)_

Very few people had the chance to see Shino during the last few days. The boy had immersed himself into training, much like the others of his generation. He was adamant to win, or at least pass the first round of the finals, and his family proved more than willing to help. His many older cousins gladly provided willing sparring partners and the addition of a third queen and hive to his body allowed access to even more of their clan's secret jutsu. One way or the other, he would be ready.

_(14:00, Uzumaki residence)_

Naruto was finally enjoying the day off. He and Jiraya had agreed on the schedule: two days of intense training, and the third day for some R&R. He spent the better part of the morning working alongside his clones in setting up a viable security system for the entire building, and he was proud of his work. He secured each of the ten apartments in the building and added an overall system to the entire building. It still wasn't up to his father's level, but he was damn fast approaching. It would be damn near impossible to enter the building without being let in by those inside.

Currently, he was having fun making gifts. Due to the overall mess during the past few weeks, he never got around making the gifts he promised himself he'd make for his friends.

The gifts ranged from practical to funny, as appropriate.

For Kakashi, he'd gotten a full set of autographed Icha Icha books along with the newest not-yet-released book in limited edition, also autographed. He knew that the cyclops would appreciate the effort.

For the old Hokage, he bought a new pipe with a good supply of high quality tobacco, a specific sort he knew the old man loved. It was one of the few vices and joys in the old man's life, and his old pipe was slowly breaking from what was probably decades of use. A few reinforcement seals, well hidden in the carvings on the handle of the pipe made sure that it would last him till the end of his days. Those were the easy ones.

For Yugao, he remembered that although she was a kenjutsu expert, she was still using a ANBU-issued wakizashi. He bought a new one, a simple yet elegant blade with very few decorations, from the shop where he usually bought weapons for his experiments. Much to his surprise it turned out that Tenten's father was the owner, and after a bit of talking he bought several other objects as well. It took him several hours of hard work to set the seals on the near-flawless surface of the blade, but in the end he was proud of his work. No one would be able to tell the masterful decorations on the blade for seals... until it was too late. It would serve her well. Tenzo's present also caused him some trouble as he had no idea what to give the man, that is until he remembered the area Tenzo focused on. One time he was saved by his unit he had trapped the villagers in a prison made of wood. He also remembered overhearing that it was the result of a bloodline held previously by the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju, the Mokuton, or Wood Release. A bit of creative thought gave him some rather crazy ideas for new weapons. Inoichi Yamanaka was the proud owner of a local flower shop which also, as he was informed occasionally acquired seeds of certain poisonous plants for the use of local ninja. He was more than pleased when he found out that they had something that matched his thoughts, and to his surprise the man proved more than willing to assist once he explained what he needed it for. A set of kunai capable of releasing a shower of seeds of different sorts. What was so special about them? Given proper seed, Mokuton was capable of almost instantly growing the plants. Combine that with several rather unpleasant species of thorny poison vines and you had a very capable weapon. And there was finally his father/brother-figure, Iruka. He sadly realized that he hadn't seen the man in almost a month. His gift proved to be the most difficult to decide upon. He considered getting the scarred chunin something to help protect him, but it took him the better part of an hour to figure out what. He finally settled on a pair of light-weight bracers, reinforced by his sealwork and light enough to be worn under clothing. He added the same seals he used on his own bracers with a few unique additions as well, such as a set of storage seals which would easily be of use.

With a small smile, he packed all of the gifts and sent shadow clones to deliver them. He only hoped that the recipients would like them.

Finally over the entire work, he got back to his favorite pet project: Breaking the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Anko. He had finished the final part on the theory a week ago, all that was left was deciding in the appropriate seals and barriers to protect her during the process. A pair of scrolls on advanced life seals pilfered from his father's, no, _his _study helped out quite a bit. He reminded himself to also visit the basement to check his father's research room.

He realized that he was content with the way his life was going. He had friends, he knew who he was, where he came from. He had a good enough income to take care of himself, and a nice enough place to live.

And with it, he conceded a final point. He knew why he was struggling so hard to destroy the cursed seal on Anko. He knew why he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"I think I'm in love..." he said in a joking tone, however beneath the surface his mind and heart were in turmoil. The emotion was new to him, something that he never felt before and was unsure how to act upon it. He also didn't want the trouble that was associated with him to be placed over someone he had come to care for. After thinking a bit, he decided that asking Kakashi-sensei or Jiraya was out of the question. He'd just do what he did best. He'd improvise.... as soon as he gathered the courage to do so. In order to avoid further thoughts on the subject he buried himself in the latest project, breaking barriers.

"The old man sure doesn't like giving us easy jobs, does he?" he asked no one in particular as he sat down in front of his desk, pulling out all the scrolls and books he had on the subject of barriers. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now.

Eight hours later, Naruto woke up to find his head lying on the desk. Seven hours of work and still nothing more than a few theories, which he couldn't test. He'd have to show them to Jiraya and see what he figured out tomorrow.

"I need a drink" he muttered as he picked up his clothes '_And to stop talking to myself_'

going against the usual road, he climbed up to the roof, enjoying the fresh evening air. Winter was fast approaching, and the cold winds that blew near-constantly these days.

He was deep in thought, barely noticing the light rain that began falling. He thought about his parents mostly. The sheer influx of information during the past couple of days didn't leave much time to think about them. He snickered as the thoughts of the look on everyone's faces when they found out passed through his mind.

Jumping from one roof to the next, he was fully aware just how empty the village looked in the cold night. He couldn't help but feel a small pang in his heart, knowing that families sat together in their homes. He needed the company. Dropping down next to a place he remembered he bought a few things and move on to a certain building, vaguely aware of a presence following him well withing his range but just out of sight

Anko was having a rotten day. It started well enough, waking up in the forest to a nice breakfast cooked up by Kurenai. Hell, Ibiki even gave her the day off. She was mostly on cloud nine at that moment. Then everything went down from there. First off, the Cursed Seal acted up, sending waves of pain through her body and mind, followed by the visions of her friends dying, her getting raped unable to do anything about it. She was shaken up to say the least. Her entire body was shivering as the visions replayed themselves in her mind. It was never this bad before, and she did her best to drag herself over to her home, only to find that someone broke into it while she was gone, breaking and burning her things, ruining the walls by cutting them. The images once more danced in front of her. Whoever the bastard was had found her hidden stash where she kept the few things that were truly important to her. Among them a small ring that belonged to her mother. She didn't really remember her parents all that well, they both died on a mission when she was two, but the simple silver band was the only thing of them she had left and someone had the _nerve_ to steal it. Once she saw it gone she broke down. Anko, a hardened kunoichi with years of experience behind her, was broken by that act. The ring was one of the few things that helped her keep her sanity at least somewhat intact. She hated it. She hated being weak, breaking down like this. Crying. She promised herself that she would never cry again after she recovered from what Orochimaru did to her. She had lost all semblance of the life she had to his betrayal, it took her many years to even partially recover. Until now.

Naruto's senses picked up that something was wrong long before he reached the building. His mind isolated the image of Anko sitting in a corner of her room, crying. Blood left his face when he saw what had happened to the rest of her apartment. In one moment he felt nothing, only for that to be replaced with rage. Someone had hurt his friend. He felt a trickle of red chakra entering his own a speed that he didn't know he had, he moved over to the door of Anko's apartment, trying his best to calm himself down for her. It wouldn't do any good if he was mad in front of her. He took one last look at the small gift he brought over. The sake might do her some good. He walked in without the usual silence, making his presence known to the girl. No reaction.

"Hey Anko" he said in a soft voice. Still no reaction. He walked over to her and crouched, putting a hand on her shoulder. He saw it, and it hurt him. The sad look in her eyes which were red from crying, the near silent sobs coming from her mouth, the shivers, both from the state she was in and from the cold air coming through the broken windows. The reaction was instantaneous and surprising... well, at least to him. She jumped from he position and hugged him, burying her crying face into his chest. Unsure of what to do, he returned the hug, hoping to grant some comfort to Anko, and was glad to see that it worked. He snaked his hand out of his coat and wrapped it around her, trying to keep her warm.

They stayed like that for the better part of an hour, Anko finally crying herself to sleep. He gently lifted her, carrying her off bridal style while summoning a team of five clones

"Find the bastards that did this. Take whatever you find on them that could belong to her and bring it back to my place." the five clones nodded and started searching. He wasn't going to report this yet, or to leave it to anyone else. As crazy as it seemed, he felt very protective of Anko right now, and heaven help the damn fools that did this when the clones found them. After a quick thought, he summoned another three clones and sent them to Ibiki, Sarutobi and Kurenai. It would do Anko good to awaken surrounded by friends. With a soft smile at the sleeping girl he carried, he moved back to his home as fast as he could. '_I'll protect you. I promise_'

The five clones quickly spread out as they detected three separate unknown scents in the apartment. Three groups quickly tracked down the scents, converging on a small bar, where three chunin were currently getting drunk. As the group converged, all of them smiled. It looked like Ibiki Morino was going to have a lot of fun after they... roughened them up a _bit._

_

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_

**Author's notes:** not the most exciting chapter, but there needs to be some time between the finals and the preliminaries. At the start of the next chapter there will likely be a time skip, right after the scene in the morning and the finals will start.

That aside, I would like to point out one detail. Before you start bombarding me with comments on Anko being a scared little girl, or my lack of writing talent (yes, while I would agree that is partially true, I am trying to improve, hence the writing), read this bit first. Anko has had a downright shitty life much like Naruto, and the betrayal of Orochimaru left her with ever so little. The trust only one person in the entire village, namely the Hokage and a single item left from her parents. The cursed seal tormented her for the better part of the day and she comes home to find it destroyed and that one thing stolen from a place she believed safe. Keep this in mind: People break very easily if you strike in the places they are vulnerable, and even more easily if you strike repeatedly. Take out the supports and a structure, no matter how strong it was _will _fall.

Now that that is over, I truly hope you enjoyed the chapter. R&R folks :P


	10. Interlude : Of Love and Toads

**Author's Ramblings: **I am seriously considering setting up a forum just for the chatter :D Anyho, this is the final chapter before the matches and the invasion begin.

Ten chapters. Wow, I'm feeling somewhat proud of myself :D And with a lot of people visiting, I think I can allow myself that.

Also, I'd like to thank all of my readers (yes that means you!) for sticking around and for the support you gave. Even for the flames. They were fun to read :P

Oh and

"Normal talk"

_'Normal thinking'_

"**Big** **summon/Bijuu talk**"

'_**Big summon/Bijuu thinking**_'

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_Chapter 10 : Of Love and Toads_

The bedroom of Naruto's apartment was somewhat crammed with people. In a semi-circle around the bed in which Anko was sleeping, were seated the few people she truly cared. On the bed, never leaving her sight for the entire night was Naruto himself, and on the chairs around her were the semi-sleeping forms of Hiruzen, Kurenai and Ibiki. Apart for Kurenai, they had gotten her about an hour ago, the duties they both had leaving little free time. One would almost think that this was a strategic meeting of sorts considering the people present. Naruto noted, much to his pleasure that the old man was using the new pipe he had bought him. He smiled as he played with strand of her hair that got over her face after he removed the bow for her hair last night. He hadn't slept at all, and sent a clone to inform Jiraya that he wouldn't be training today.

_'She'll wake up soon, I might as well make some breakfast for everyone here' _he tiredly thought as he walked over to the kitchen.

Ibiki Morino was royally pissed off, and he was certain that the sentiment was shared by four out of five occupant of the room. When he heard what happened, he calmly asked that the interrogation cells be prepared and went of to prepare his instruments. His torture skills were something immensely feared by all enemy shinobi and any would be traitors, and while he was usually unwilling to badly torment people, he'd be more than willing to make an exception. The fact that he opened an invitation for Kurenai to join in with her genjutsu spoke as much of his intentions. The other thing that occupied his thoughts was the enigma of Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. The blond was a virtual wellspring of surprises, and he had really taken a liking to the young man. He studied him carefully, trying to at least find out what drove him so hard, but most of the time, his face stood as a mask, showing only those emotions he allowed them to show. It was a skill that many needed years to master, but the boy learned it to preserve his own life. Just like many other skills. He would still chuckle at the memory of reading the pursuit reports the ANBU wrote. He'd make a good ninja... probably even better than his father.

Kurenai was trying her best to stay awake, waiting for the moment her friend woke up to be there for her. After the late night visit from a clone of Naruto (whom she almost killed after waking her up by knocking on her window), she stormed over to his apartment, nearly burning herself on the many layered barriers that surrounded the building. She was quickly escorted by a sleepy Kabuto, who had the misfortune of being stuck on the ground floor. Anko was a complete mess, that much was obvious, but Naruto had been doing his best to take care of her. He had removed her trenchcoat and covered her with a warm blanket, while sitting beside her the entire night. Kabuto had dropped by a few times to check on her, having a resident physician wasn't such a bad thing after all. One part of her mind was now focused on Anko, while a second planned a painful death to the bastards that did this to her. Like she hadn't suffered enough so far. And she was seriously considering the offer that Ibiki had given her. A few of the jutsu originally planned for perverts were actually _very _deadly.

The third (pun intended) figure in this little gathering, Hiruzen Sarutobi was sadly watching the girl. He had given full clearance for Naruto to roughen up the persons responsible, with the only stipulation being that they be delivered alive to Ibiki. Naruto wasn't going to object. How much more would these children have to pay for the sins of generations past?

In the kitchen, Naruto smirked as he felt one of the five clones disperse. The knowledge that all three 'burglars' had most of their bones broken was oddly pleasing to him. Three clones hurried off with their bodies to the ANBU I.T. Division, while the fourth was shunshining home as fast as possible holding a small intricately carved wooden box.

She felt warm and safe. Anko remembered this feeling, it was something she knew from only a few places, and it included either her parents, Kurenai, or... her eyes snapped open as she remembered everything that happened. The pain, the images, the break-in, the loss of the ring and finally.... she mildly blushed. _'Wait, I blushed? Damn gaki...' _shethought the mental cursing bearing no ire. He came, she realized, like a knight in shinning armor. A second time. She felt indebted to him, yet she felt that he never even thought of it so, as if it were his sworn duty to help any unfortunate soul he met. Or maybe it was just his character. A deadly ninja with a heart of gold. She was tempted to say that people like that wouldn't survive in the harsh world they live in, but he lived in a village in which many did their best to end his life, so that would be a moot point. Besides, he knew when to kill.

"Naruto! Anko's waking up" Kurenai loudly called the blond. The others instantly woke up as well.

Anko slowly got up only to be greeted by the worried faces of every person that she called friend. IT was enough to send another tear to her eyes. When Naruto finally walked in carrying a tray with breakfast and a glass of juice the tear finally left her eye, gently flowing down her cheek.

Her tear was instantly countered by a hug from Kurenai, followed by soft words of comfort, the normally controlled woman doing whatever was in her power to help her friend.

The three men smiled happily at the two hugging women. None of them really minded the show of affection between two friends. They just waited a few minutes before they parted. Shaking his head with a smile, he walked over to a still bedridden Anko, placing the tray in front of her

"I thought you could use some food" he said in a caring voice. Anko dumbly nodded, when a loud sound was heard from her stomach, causing her to once again mildly blush, much to the entertainment of everyone present. The tension was completely gone, the events of last night for the time being forgotten as everyone enjoyed the simple yet very tasty breakfast that Naruto cooked up, effectively proving to everyone that he _did _eatthings other than ramen. Sarutobi excused himself after he was sure that Anko was feeling better, and Ibiki left smirking after he told Anko that Naruto had delivered the men to I.T., and that he was going over to 'have fun'. A shiver ran through everyone's spine at the comment. The only ones left were Kurenai, Anko and Naruto.

"Feeling a bit better I hope?" Naruto asked in a bit happier voice. Anko merely nodded, still lying on the bed. Naruto smiled as he felt the clone enter the apartment. He walked out and picked up the box. It was beautiful, the intricate carvings on the top depicting a lake with cranes flying over. Without a second's thought he walked back in, the box concealed behind his back.

"Well, I have something that will make you feel even better" he explained in a sly tone. Anko raised an eyebrow at the comment, while Kurenai spotted the box and her eyes widened. Never dropping the smile, he brought up the box. Kurenai had explained earlier just why said box was important, and

he had already checked for the ring inside, glad to find it there and glad that the fools didn't pawn it off.

Anko's expression was priceless. Like a child on Christmas, she leaped out of bed, dressed in only her fishnet shirt and skirt, and grabbed the box. Her eyes bore the mixed expressions of awe and utter disbelief as she opened the box and found her ring inside. Neither of the two occupants in the room were prepared for what followed. Heck, even Kyuubi was surprised, and it took a LOT to surprise him.

Naruto blinked as a pair of lips slammed into his own. He could swear he heard someone laughing in the back of his head. It took him a moment to recover from the sheer shock of the event as his mind lagged quite a bit behind current happenings. Not that he minded, as he found that he very much enjoyed the kiss, and started to return it, only for Anko to break off. Her eyes were in tears as she hugged him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, quietly repeating 'Thank you'.

She really didn't know what to do anymore. He found the ring and the box with all her savings. He saved her life once before, and he saved her from her misery now. Her knight in shining armor, as silly as it sounded, like almost every girl she had the dream.

"It's okay Anko-chan" he softly cooed as he stroked her back "Let it all out"

Kurenai watched the events with unhidden surprise. In her entire life she had never seen Anko be this emotional. For the sake of them both, she quietly sneaked out of the room, leaving the 'lovebirds' alone. She silently snickered at the thought as she closed the door behind her

The above mentioned 'lovebirds' kept standing until Anko finally quieted down. She had placed the ring on her finger, deciding never to take it off again. She was blushing. For one reason or another she had fallen for Naruto. She was fully aware of all the issues that would crop up. The fact that she was five years his senior was one. Kyuubi was apparently another

There was something in her eyes that Naruto couldn't identify. He knew he saw it somewhere... but before he could identify it, Anko had turned around and grabbed her coat.

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked her, in a slightly sad tone. He didn't want her to go yet.

"Y..yeah, I have to patch up my apartment a bit" she explained, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. He knew it was a lost cause. _'And I do own the building'_

"You know.. I have a few free apartments here " he said in a soft tone. Anko looked at him incredulously. Did he actually ask her to move in?

"What exactly are you suggesting?" she asked in a mixture of curiosity and indignation. She wasn't a little girl who couldn't take care of herself. Well, most of the time. Naruto merely sighed as he hugged her once more. He needed to get his feelings across else he'd go mad.

"You are someone precious to me Anko. I don't want to see you hurt for something that could have been easily prevented, you know? I own this building and I've already given up four apartments to others. Why shouldn't I make sure that a good friend was safe?" he explained.

Anko was surprised by his words. She already heard from others of the importance he placed on those precious to him. She really didn't know how to answer that last question. She didn't want to. At this point all the shields and barriers she erected to protect herself from the harshness of the world outside were completely and utterly broken. Naruto had wormed his way into her heart. She could only hope he felt the same way as her. She was pretty sure she'd do anything to make it up to him.

"Okay." she whispered. Feeling it was the time for a better mood, Naruto decided to once more let his more childish self

"You can pick any free apartment, although I'd recommend skipping the ground floor" he said in a more cheerful voice. He had calmed down as well, and watched him with her usual curiosity.

"Why not?"

"Let's just say that Kabuto isn't a morning person" he said while chuckling. Anko didn't really know Kabuto apart from seeing him once or twice, but imagining him all messed up in the morning yelling at those who woke him up made her laugh. She didn't know why she found it so funny.

"Tell me a bit more about my other new 'neighbors'" she asked in a half-serious voice. Naruto smiled and guided her to the living room where the both sat down on the couch. Neither of them commented or minded the proximity

"Well... all of them are shinobi for starters. There's Zaku, he's on the first floor. Crazy guy, keeps using those strange tubes on his palms to cool his tea" he started explaining while moving one of his fingers in a circular motion round the side of his head "Other than that he acts normally most of the time. I still shiver when I think of the singing when he uses the shower" and indeed he shivered, making Anko snicker. "Keep laughing girl, he's your neighbor as well, and most of us keep the silence seals down"

"Damn" she muttered

"Then there's Kin. You might want to meet her, she's probably the sanest person in the building. But she's a bit like us"

"Like _us?" _she asked, curious, but mostly stressing the 'us'

"She has the same eyes, just a different mask. I'm pretty sure she had a _very_ rotten childhood, and I think she could use another friend. She along with her two teammates are former Oto-nin,basically thrown to the wolves. The old man offered them some deal, I'm not really sure what exactly, and moved them in here after giving me ownership of the building"

"I'm sure we'll get along. Does she drink sake?" Anko asked hopefully, happy at having another woman in the building.

"Damn me if I know. You can go and ask her yourself. On to the last unmentioned person, Dosu. He's the serious guy of the bunch... unless it's about music or instruments. There, he's the worst of the bunch, and as stubborn as a mule. I think he's still up from last night trying to rebuild his gauntlet."

"Sounds like a fine bunch, What about Kabuto?" Anko asked, somewhat glad that her neighbors were at least passingly normal.

"Kabuto? Decent guy, awesome doctor. I have to admit, I was wrong about that one, and with that seal off, he's quite a good guy. Likes to play poker too. No worries Anko-chan, you'll fit right in" he said with a large smile, which Anko couldn't help but return. He slowly got up and offered her a hand

"Come on. Let's get you settled." he called her. She grabbed his hand and got up. As he walked through the door, he stopped. Although Anko couldn't see it, he was nervous. Very nervous.

"I was wondering" he started.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind going to dinner with me tonight?" he finally asked, having prepared himself for the possible rejection. Of all the people he met, Anko was one of the hardest to read, and he couldn't tell whether she was messing around, or was she genuinely interested in him.

"Are you asking me out on a date Naruto-_kun_?" she asked in turn with a slight smirk, while inside she was hoping for a yes.

"If you want to" was all he replied as he walked out, a beaming smile on his face. Anko smiled as well as she followed him.

"Tonight at nine?"

"Why not" she quickly replied as they entered another apartment near Naruto's

_(12:00, Konoha ANBU Headquarters, T.I. Division interrogation cells)_

"Are they still alive?" came the rather smug and content voice of Morino Ibiki. A group of medics were fixing up the three burglars from last night. The leader of said group, a brown haired man in his late twenties turned to face him, one of his hands setting his glasses.

"Hai. They'll live. It looks like they pissed someone off badly"

"That they did. I still can't figure out how the hell the kid managed to mangle them so badly and leave them alive" Ibiki explained, with a small hint of jealousy towards the blond. It was his job to break them up damn it!. Still, no one said he couldn't have _fun. _The sadistic grin on his face was more than enough to make the others take a step way. Even the ANBU knew better than to get between Ibiki and someone that pissed him off.

"So, you think you can just break into Anko's home, do you?" Ibiki asked them without expecting an answer. Not that they could answer, being gagged as they were.

Many would be very thankful for the excessive privacy seals that covered the entire building.

_(Same time, Namikaze estate)_

Naruto sighed as he continued searching the ground floor for the entrance to the basement. He came across everything he didn't need at the moment. His father' wardrobe, his mother's makeup...ugh... the broom closet, even the hot spring, but no basement. Deeply annoyed at the lengths his father went to to protect his work, he finally returned to the study, hoping to find some information on it. And as he went by, he noticed a faint glint on the wall opposite from the study door. A wide grin spread over his face as he recognized the familiar outline of a blood seal

"So that's where you've been hiding it. Leave it to dad to hide things in plain sight.."

Without wasting any time he bit his thumb and smeared the blood on the surface. Instantly, the previously invisible panel was covered by a golden latticework of seals, quickly covering the entire surface and simply turning ethereal. Naruto watched the effects in awe as he walked through.

_'I still have a LOT to learn before I reach your level Minato Namikaze' _he silently mused as he descended the flight of stairs. Another thought was going through his head as well. The fact that he actually couldn't sense anything through the small cracks of the various doors in the house along with not being able to detect the hidden doorway surprised him. He reduced the range of the field to about four meters, letting the rest of his chakra dissipate harmlessly, but normally he could sense what was on the other side of a door, or most hidden compartments. Inside this house? Ziltch, nada, nothing. Even the hokage tower security was a joke compared to this. Just what the hell was his father hiding inside his house?

The spiraling stairwell finally descended into a large rectangular chamber. Eight archways led to other rooms, each marked with a small plate. 'Library A Wing', 'Library B Wing', 'Research', 'Vault', 'Greenhouse', 'Seal Vault', 'Storeroom' and 'Legacy Vault'. _'Legacy Vault? Did they actually...?'_ Not being able to wait another moment, Naruto stormed into the room.

Within the stone walled room were three identical objects. Three crystal spheres, each resting on seven concentric circles formed by metal plates. As he got closer, he noticed that each of them were covered by seals. On a small pedestal stood a scroll, which he instantly unrolled and read

_'To our son, Naruto_

_Within this chamber, the most powerful aspects of our legacy are contained. This is the so-called research room I mentioned in the scrolls. The entirety of this underground complex is a research area constructed by the both of us. Within this specific room, three things are contained in Seal Vaults, devices meant to protect object of great importance. Each of these three vaults contains something we left behind for you. Among them are your mother's sword and your father's notes on the Hiraishin jutsu. The third one is the result of years of research, a Codex of Seals, as it were. It was a life's work, and we leave it to you to learn from and complete. The Vaults can only be opened by someone of our combined blood, in other words, only you Naruto. The metal plates are covered by arrays of security seals made to protect the object within. That in itself is a gift to you, for it will help with your knowledge of seal, because if you are even a bit like your father, you probably understand them better than even that old pervert Jiraya._

_Use these gifts well our son, and know that we are both proud of you and love you_

_Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze'_

Another of Naruto's genuine smiles crossed his face as another tear came from his eyes.

"To think I actually doubted that they cared." he quietly muttered as he looked over the nearest of the three devices, one that had a small plate beneath it that said 'Song of the Wind'. Wondering for a second, he decided against summoning clones. This was a gift to him from his parents. It simply didn't feel right to use clones for this. Sitting down on the carpeting beneath him, he began to study the metal plates. Each of the seven circular plates were covered by a separate seal array, and each were linked to another array on a layer of the crystal sphere. _'So, each of the seals controls a single of the layers, and until I figure out how to activate or disable them all, I can't get to the vault to open. Time to get to work'_

After gently touching the outer plate, the fine blue latticework of the array lit up, A short time spent analyzing the entire circle reveal to him that he needed to release a _guided _stream of chakra into the system to disable it, while avoiding any of the security systems that would most likely do something unpleasant. With a wide grin, the kind he always wore when faced with a challenge, he started.

The work was utterly fascinating he realized. He had actually summoned a clone to keep watch for the time so that he wouldn't miss his dinner with Anko, as he descended into the intricacies of the array plate. Hundreds upon hundreds of small seals connected and finely interwoven together. What shocked him even more was that when he made his first mistake, the seals rearranged themselves into a completely new pattern. Naruto realized one thing. His knowledge of seals may have been good... for an average ninja, but compared to his father, he was still a child learning to read and write. But that didn't discourage him. If nothing else, it actually made him even more determined to succeed

"Father, I _will_ surpass you. I promise" he quietly said as the plate reset itself once more. With a superhuman level of concentration, he slowly guided his chakra through the small conduits, determinedly going through one seal after another. He quickly began to see the way the seals were bound to each other, and after an hour, he even figured out the pattern through which they were reset. He had to admit though, his father was a damn genius, as the entire plate was made from no more then five different seals used in a variety of ways. As the small snake of chakra finally reached the final seal, a layer of crystal broke off. With a determined look, Naruto returned to the work. Four hours later he climbed out of the basement, tired, but content as he went back home to shower and get dressed.

In the other apartment, Anko had finally finished the process of moving in. Having placed all of her remaining clothes, the few pictures she owned and the rest of her shinobi equipment, she went on to prepare for her upcoming dinner-date. Anko wasn't exactly a normal girl by any means. First shunned by the populace for the betrayal of the snake sannin, then hardened by years of combat, she realized one thing: she didn't have anything even remotely decent to wear. Holding back the desire to scream she decided to call in her friend Kurenai and the girl Kin, whom she found to be a decent person, and fun to talk with as she wasn't even remotely scared of her... or her snakes for that matter.

Both Kurenai and Kin had wide grins at the news, and were more than willing to assist, not to mention tease. Nervous as hell, Anko ushered the two of them in

"Please, I need help on this and _now_" Anko pleaded to the two as she dragged them in.

"Okay, okay, we'll help" Kin tried calming down her new friend. She hadn't met the raven-haired girl next to her before, but as they say, a friend of a friend... the two of them introduced themselves to each other while walking up the stairs.

"Did he finally ask you out? Or did you ask him out?" Kurenai asked deeply curious to find out if Anko got it together with Naruto

"Oh shush, he asked me out, but I don't have anything to wear!" Anko panicked. Kin watched her curiously

"You're not worried how the date will turn out?" She asked Anko, who immediately calmed down with an smile on her face

"I get the feeling I won't have to worry about that. But I don't want to look like a cheap whore when I go out with him, okay? Kami knows just what he has in store for tonight" she happily explained. She didn't mind going out with Naruto in the least, and the rest of the could go and fuck themselves for all she cared. The least she could do is make herself look presentable.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day" Kurenai teased as she thought about what she could get Anko to wear. Anko growled at the comment, but she ignored her. "Come on, we're going over to my place, I'm sure I can think something up" she said, laying a hand on both girl's shoulders before the vanished in a swirl of leaves.

_(21:00, Naruto's apartment)_

_(_Author's warning: I'm not good with clothes in my own language (read, mostly bad fashion sense... so sue me :P) let alone in English, so please forgive any mistakes on that account_)_

One would consider planning a date with a military level of strategy overkill, but Naruto certainly didn't like leaving things to chance. After visiting several restaurants he finally found a few good ones, where no one minded his condition. The place he chose, the Golden Leaf belonged to the Akimichi clan, and was famous for it's superb and mostly exotic food and great atmosphere.

After searching through all of his clothes, Naruto decided to go for casual but elegant. He really didn't have much to wear, but all the clothes he had were in perfect condition, spotless, ironed and folded. It was something that Sarutobi had taught him, along with keeping personal hygiene whenever possible. He picked out a pair of black dress pants, and a comfortable black silk shirt along with his other coat. One of the advantages of having Kyuubi sealed inside you was the fact that cold weather no longer presented a problem, so the elegant dark blue coat was for show more than anything else. Unlike the other one, this one wasn't meant for combat, rather for events such as this one. He took another look at his somewhat unkempt hair. It had been two months since he last cut it, so he sat down and summoned a clone to shorten it for him. Content with his normally short spiky hair back he put on the finishing touches, his favorite necklace and prepared himself to face Anko.

**'Good luck kit, if it's any help, you're looking good' **the ancient fox kindly commented as he prepared himself for the probably utterly embarrassing and highly entertaining night that would follow.

'Thanks Kyu. It does' Naruto replied, blissfully unaware of the thoughts of his tenant

In the other apartment, Kin and Kurenai were admiring their handiwork.

"Knock 'em dead girl" Kurenai said while Kin smiled as Anko waited for Naruto to come.

Nervous as hell, Naruto stood in front of the door to the apartment he gave Anko. He had completely dropped the Radiance sphere, mostly because he needed every bit of concentration to keep himself from chickening out. '_Fighting Orochimaru? Easy. Going out with Anko? Ehm...not exactly a walk in the park, although that's not such a bad idea'_

After knocking he simply waited, keeping the flowers he bought her behind his back. He didn't really have much taste in picking out flowers for a girl, unlike growing them that required some previous knowledge, so he asked Ino for help. Being the ever-curious gossip she was, in return for the reason why he needed flowers, she helped him. The bouquet of red lilies was unusual, but beautiful.

"I'm coming" answered and equally nervous voice Naruto recognized as Anko's. When the door finally opened, he was left speechless.

In front of him stood what he in a moment believed to be a goddess. Anko was dressed in a long dark purple dress which hugged her body closely, accentuating her curves and making Naruto feel hot and bothered. Her purple hair was falling freely onto her back, held only by a small black bow. In a word, she was gorgeous. Nervously swallowing, he focused every single bit of his will into calming himself down.

"H..hey Anko" he stuttered but calmed down. Anko smiled at him and licked her lips.

"Hey Naruto. You're looking nice" she almost purred. The teasing actually relaxed Naruto

"You're looking quite beautiful yourself" he replied "A small gift for you" he whispered and pulled out the red lilies. She blushed slightly and accepted the flowers, walking back in and putting them in a vase before they left, Naruto offering his arm to her

"Sooo, what have you got in store for tonight Naruto-_kun_?" Anko asked curiously as they walked, feigning ignorance to the many surprised looks at the couple.

"It's a surprise Anko-_chan,_ and no amount of flirting will loosen my lips" he teased back, while she pouted. Both began quietly laughing as they walked. A while later, Anko watched in surprise as they entered the Golden Leaf.

"Do you have reservations?" the aged majordomo asked politely. Naruto nodded

"A table for two under the name Uzumaki" he replied calmly. The man looked over a small list, absently nodding to himself

"Right this way" he said, guiding the two to a table next to the fountain in the middle of the restaurant. Naruto pulled out the chair for Anko to sit down before sitting himself. After being handed a pair of menus, Anko decided to speak up

"You know, you didn't have to take me out somewhere this extravagant." she said in a light teasing voice "but that's why I appreciate it" she added a heartwarming smile. Naruto was genuinely surprised with her behavior. The Anko he had met was usually nice, if a bit dangerous and guarded. The mask she made by scaring off people was gone as well. He smiled realizing that she trusted him. And liked him as well.

"It's more than worth it if I get to see that smile" he softly said, to which she blushed again. He returned his focus to the menu in front of him, actively considering what to eat as Anko did the same. The waiter soon left, having gotten the orders, while the couple returned to small talk as they waited for the food. The conversation went from the usual subjects of missions and assassination techniques, which mildly unnerved some of the nearby patrons, to the more unusual ones (for them at least). Time passed quickly in their conversation, although neither paid much attention to the words the other said, opting instead to keep their eyes locked. For the first time since he met her, Naruto saw warmth in her dark eyes and a hint of happiness, something that she sorely lacked. Something he'd be more than willing to provide. Her eye-lock was broken by the sudden arrival of the food they ordered. Tempura chicken and wine for Naruto and a seafood risotto and sake for Anko. They both tasted their food. Naruto would have to say it was exquisite

"How's the food?" Naruto asked tentatively. Anko stopped eating for a moment, opting for a sip of sake while she thought of a good answer

"Adequate" she replied with a mock serious face. Naruto laughed lightly and took a sip of his own drink. The wine was nice, he had heard of the imported drink before, but he hadn't had the chance to taste it before. Now he found it to his liking. The rest of the dinner went on in relative silence, the occasional smile gracing their lips from time to time. With their meal finished they opted to just keep sitting for a while, enjoying their respective drinks and views, leaving almost an hour later.

As they left, Naruto noticed that the sky cleared up during the time they were at the restaurant. _'Now might not be such a bad moment for a walk'_ he mused as he turned his head to Anko, who was holding his arm. Naruto smiled, he had to admit they looked like a good couple.

"Up for a walk?" he asked her. Anko nodded, and the pair slowly walked away towards the park.

Naruto's watch never faltered, and he easily noticed the same figure that was following him for a while now. Whoever it was, kept their chakra well suppressed and constantly kept to the shadows. He decided to let it go for now, as long as his date wasn't interrupted, he could always find out later.

The largest park in Konoha was beautiful at any time of the year, mostly due to the fact that the flowers tended to bloom the almost year-long thanks to the warmth that the pond, warmed by a hot spring feeding it, making sure that the winter snow never stayed long. The couple silently walked, enjoying the beauty of the land around them. The soft moonlight, reflected in the pond, the stars shining brightly in the sky above. The scent of late autumn flowers and the feel of of leaves beneath their feet. The light perfume that Anko carried that Naruto finally noticed.

Anko on the other hand finally noticed the small necklace that Naruto always wore. She had noticed the piece before, but didn't give much significance to it. Now, she was intently watching it as her head rested on Naruto's shoulder.

"Hey, Naruto?" she softly whispered

"Uhmm?" Naruto murmured back

"Where did you get that necklace? It's beautiful" she quietly asked. Naruto suddenly stopped, a sad smile adorning his face.

"It was a gift... from a dying friend. A reminder of a promise I made" he softly explained as a tear found it's way down his cheek. Anko gently brushed it away.

"Sorry for bringing up bad memories" she whispered again, and Naruto gave back one of his smiles. After a moment's silence, he made a decision. Gently untangling his arms from hers he whispered into her ear "Close your eyes"

Anko obeyed without question, wondering what he was going to do. Naruto detached the clasp of the silver chain which held the small snowflake, slowly removing it from his neck _'I hope you will forgive this Haku' _he somberly thought as he moved his hands around Anko's neck, once more clasping the necklace together.

"You can open your eyes now" he whispered. Anko did so, her hands immediately going for the necklace. Just as she opened her mouth to protest, Naruto shushed her

"That necklace serves as a reminder of my promise, it is my dearest possession. A promise to protect all those I hold precious to me. You Anko, are precious to me, and I want you to carry it because..." he stopped, drawing a deep breath, gathering the confidence he needed "...because I love you"

Anko was once more left speechless. He loved her? That was what she wanted, she knew she loved him, but it was still a surprise. With a smile that could melt iron she hugged him and kissed him.

Once more, Naruto stood stunned by her actions. Would he ever get used to her impulsive behavior? It didn't matter to him now, so he returned both the hug and the kiss. A single warm drop fell on his cheek, Anko had cried once more, but for the first time the tears were from happiness. As they finally parted for breath, Naruto heard her whispered, but very happy reply

"I love you too" she whispered before her hand snaked back in front of him.

"I want you to have this" she once more whispered "Let it be a promise between us" she explained as she slid her ring on his finger.

_(06:00, Naruto's apartment)_

An eerie silence had descended on the normally lively home of Uzumaki Naruto. The only sound that could be heard (and with great effort) was the sound of breathing coming from the bedroom. Inside, Naruto was lying on his bed dressed only in his boxers, embraced by a still sleeping Anko, who was similarly dressed only in her underwear.. Naruto was reminiscing about the past night, and looked at the small band that was now on his finger, a gift from Anko, and at the necklace that now adorned Anko's neck. Nothing really happened after the got home last night, but Naruto realized that he certainly could get used to sleeping like this.

"Anko-hime" he whispered into Anko's ear, his smile never leaving him. She moved slightly, releasing a cute sound, snuggling up closer to Naruto. He gently prodded her a few times, until she finally opened her eyes.

"Sorry love, but you have to let me go now. I have to go and train" he kindly explained, hoping that Anko wouldn't make much of a problem.. She blinked once, before untangling herself. Anko got up and stretched a bit as Naruto went of and showered. Quietly contemplating whether to strip and join him or not, Anko walked off to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

Not fifteen minutes later, Naruto walked out of the shower only to be greeted by the delightful scent on bacon and eggs. Having dressed in his normal clothes (dark brown pants and light brown shirt) he sat down quietly... that is, until his stomach decided to announce itself. Anko merely chuckled

"Hungry are we?" she teased as she brought the frying pan to the table. Naruto couldn't tell why, but Anko simply didn't strike him as a housewife. Perhaps because a kunai fit better in her hand than a kitchen knife... or perhaps because she was more used to cutting up people than making lunch. After waiting for her to put some food on his plate, and sit down herself, Naruto started eating

"Ummm, tasty" he complimented "Never knew you could cook Anko"

"There's a lot about me you don't know yet Naru-kun" she answered, smiling mysteriously. Naruto laughed before responding

"I have every intention of finding out Anko-hime" he replied. Anko mildly blushed at the hime comment. She wasn't still used to so many compliments that didn't involve lewd staring at her assets. After finishing, he helped her clean up, and prepared to leave, while she prepared to join him

"You know, you can stay here for as long as you want. It's your home as much as it is mine" he whispered as he kissed her once more.

"I have to go and report for a mission... but it's still nice to know" she answered as they both went their separate ways. A lot of gossip would circle through the village that day, much to the entertainment of the new couple.

_(12:00, Isolated training ground outside of Konoha)_

Jiraya had his share of suspicions when Naruto stopped calling him ero-sensei or ero-sennin, while smiling the entire morning. It was a smile he knew oh so well, the usual smile someone had when they scored, so to speak. But just who was the lucky girl? Naruto refused to answer any questions on the subject, so he temporarily gave up. Temporarily being the key word, Jiraya wasn't Konoha's spymaster for nothing, and he'd be damned if he didn't find out just what the kid did.

"Alright, we're done with the usual chakra control exercises, and I see that your wind manipulation is going well" he started, and Naruto dispelled his usual legion of clones "Training your taijutsu would require teaching you another style, and that would take at least two months before you could use it well, but we will still spar every second day so that you don't grow rusty. From this point onward you're learning only kenjutsu and ninjutsu. When you're not studying, I expect you to work with me on the 'project' we're working on for the Hokage. Understood?"

"Hai, ero-sensei" Naruto replied with a smirk

"Would you stop calling me that gaki?" Jiraya bellowed.

"Sure, as soon as you stop being a pervert" Naruto replied, his fox-like grin never leaving his face. Sighing in defeat, Jiraya settled with mumbling about disrespecting brats as he pulled out a set of six scrolls.

"Five out of these scrolls contain a highly detailed explanation on five different jutsu. These are a short selection of those I know that I expect you can learn _and _master during the remaining time. Two of them are elemental, and the rest use pure chakra. The sixth scroll " here Jiraya smiled" is something I, ehm... acquired from Kiri. I think you'll find it useful" Jiraya tossed him the scrolls, and Naruto, being as curious as he was, immediately went for the sixth one. Unlike the other five that were brand new, the last one was an ancient scroll, the paper yellowed from age. He carefully unrolled, and began reading

_'The teachings of master Kaise Tarak on the subject of Zanbatou' _

"I was in luck to find that one, even more when I found out that you had _his _sword" Jiraya explained with a content smirk "It should help you find out what that last seal means. Now read the rest of the scrolls, give one to a clone each and read them through. Carefully. I'll be back in two hours, and I will ask you about each and every one of them. Oh, and one more thing, if you manage to learn _all_ of them up to a week before the exams, I'll teach you summoning and allow you to sign the toad contract" Jiraya explained, planning to get a rise from the blond. And, the desired effect was easily achieved, much to his pleasure. Naruto wasn't hard to motivate, thankfully.

Naruto nodded an summoned five more clones, each taking enthusiastically to one of the scrolls while Jiraya went off, presumably to do some of his research.

The work of master Kaise was at times boring and at times exciting. The scroll didn't simply cover the use of the sword, but the philosophy and psychology behind it, the occasional sword move being neatly concealed in the mostly theoretical text. He carefully studied the scroll, and as soon as all six of them finished reading, he dispelled the clones, absorbing the knowledge.

The five jutsu were interesting to say the least. The first was **Earth Release : Swamp of the Underworld**, mostly an offensive/support jutsu which created an area of swampland fueled by the user's chakra, the size and depth depending on how much chakra was used. The second one was a more... esoteric skill, but still quite deadly. The **Needle Jizo** as Jiraya called it, funneled chakra to instantly enhance the growth of hair, while forming said hair into a powerful quill shield which surrounded the body. Said shield could also protect another person or two if needed., and would be dispressed as soon as it was no longer necessary. The third was his patented **Transparent Escape** which although mostly used for peeping, was a godsend for espionage, which Jiraya pointed out. The fourth jutsu was something that brought a wicked grin to his face. The **Five Elements Seal** was no simple thing to make or use, requiring a large amount of chakra to manifest. The effects were simple, the seal could permanently suppress **any** chakra, however when added to an already existing seal that bound a bijuu, it's chakra as well, as well as having the side effect of messing up the victim's chakra control badly. In other words, it would most likely leave the intended target, Gaara, weak as a kitten. Whether he could learn the jutsu or not, was a different question though. And finally the fifth jutsu was a mostly simple one, **Wind Release : Blade of Wind, **a purely offensive jutsu which created an intangible yet very deadly blade out of the wind itself and sent it at a target. However along with it, were a few techniques for utilizing wind chakra with weapons, as of all the five elemental natures, Wind was the best suited for such actions.

Naruto calmly pondered over the information he received from the six scrolls that Jiraya left him, and began his training after summoning three hundred clones, fifty for each scroll. There was work to be done.

Little did Naruto know that a perfectly concealed Jiraya was looking at him, with a proud smile as he trained. Out of the five jutsu, only one showed any progress after an hour, and that was the **Blade of Wind**, the easiest one. Jiraya was pleased however. It took most people nearly a day to even begin making visible effects for the jutsu. Just as he was about to enter the clearing he felt the rather easily recognizable signature of Anko Mitarashi entering the clearing.

The real Naruto stopped his training and walked over to greet his new girlfriend with a hug and a kiss

"Hey loverboy" Anko teased

"Hey yourself hime" Naruto returned. They stayed like that for a few moments before parting

"I just dropped by to tell you. I got stuck with an escort mission. I'll be gone most of the month" she sadly explained, earning another kiss from Naruto

"I'll be waiting. Stay safe my love" he quietly whispered. For his sake, Jiraya stayed quiet and ignored the conversation. He was a pervert, but there were a few borders he wouldn't cross.

Most of the following month was spent in training, with Naruto mildly moping over the fact that Anko would be absent most of the month due to her joining an escort mission. A week before the finals, Jiraya brought Naruto to another large clearing even further from the village. Naruto was completely exhausted by the downright harsh training of the past month. His perverted godfather had shortly explained that the first part during the first couple of days was mostly Jiraya testing his level so he would know what to teach him. And now, now was the time for the test.

"On my mark gaki" Jiraya shouted as Naruto prepared.

"Swamp" he shouted, and Naruto began flashing through handseals before slamming both his hands into the ground and creating a large swamp. '_Not bad, his speed is good, but he still needs both hands. Silent as well_'

"Blade of wind"

This time, with a single-handed handseal, a nearby tree was shredded my two consecutive blades of wind.

'_As expected, he completely mastered the wind jutsu, while having trouble with the earth one._'

"Peeping" Jiraya jokingly said, while Naruto only loudly grumbled about perverts before disappearing without even moving

'_Perfect, I wonder if he could figure out how to use it in battle_'

"Needle Jizo"

Naruto smiled before placing his hands into a handseal and shouted "**Needle Jizo**" while his spiky blond hair started growing like mad, and within less than two seconds, his entire body was shielded by a shell of needles. Five second later, Naruto released the jutsu and the shell broke off, revealing Naruto with his hair unchanged

'_Not bad, not bad. He still needs to use both the handseal and the name, but he's learned it perfectly_'

"Now, for the seal" Jiraya pulled out a large scroll "This one has chakra going through it. I made it specially for this test. I want you to seal it" he explained before throwing the scroll at Naruto. Nodding, the blond rolled it open on the ground and started his job. Jiraya was impressed that Naruto perfectly memorized the sequence of nearly sixty handseals required for the jutsu, and that he could even perform them flawlessly. Finally, he extended his right arm, while clutching his wrist with his left.

"**Sealing Art : Five Elements Seal**" he shouted as five symbols, one by one, appeared on the tips of his fingers, before being slammed into the scroll. Naruto watched nervously, hoping that the seal would hold, and after a few seconds, he could relax. After a fifteen days of trying he had finally done it. Jiraya shortly inspected the seal, and gave his okay for it. All chakra flow had ceased, therefore the sealing was successful.

"So, do I get to sign the summoning contract?"

"Hai, hai" Jiraya replied, waving him off with his hands as he quickly performed the necessary seals and slammed his right hand into the ground. The seals spread around the ground beneath him, and quickly enough, a cloud of smoke obscured the area. Before him stood a toad. A horse sized toad with Jiraya on top.

"Now, we can get down to business." Jiraya commented as the toad opened it's mouth and rolled out it's tongue towards Naruto, carrying with it a large scroll.

"That Naruto is the summoning contract for the great toads of Myobokuzan" Jiraya began seriously.

"In order to be able to summon them, you must sign the contract _and _acquire the blessing of the so called Boss Summon, a leader of sorts. In your particular case, that would be Gamabunta. Now, unroll the scroll and sign your name in blood in the first free slot. After you do so, put some blood on the five fingers of the hand you wish to use to summon and leave the prints on the scroll right beneath your name"

Naruto dutifully followed the instructions, signing right beside Jiraya and his father, and placing the prints of his right hand on the free slot. The toad rolled up the scroll and returned it to it's mouth before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"The last part is to perform the summoning jutsu. Follow the handseals carefully" Jiraya continued, slowly showing them to Naruto who repeated them a few times before fully committing them to memory.

"Okay, so now I try it" Naruto said nervously "How much chakra do I use?" Jiraya placed his hand on his chin, considering for a few seconds "Try the amount you need for Needle Jizo"

"Here goes nothing"

Naruto moved through the handseals slowly, molding the necessary chakra before shouting

"Summoning jutsu!" and slamming down his right hand into the ground. The array of the summoning quickly spread beneath his palm and a puff of smoke appeared. As it cleared, Naruto spotted a small orange frog, the size of a smaller dog.

"Yo" the frog saluted. Naruto was about to say something when Jiraya's hand descended on his shoulder

"Good work kiddo. When I started the best I could do was to summon a tadpole" he jokingly commented on the situation "Hey Gamakichi. How's your old man?" Jiraya saluted the tiny frog.

"Jiraya!" the small toad happily shouted "Pops' fine. Ma and Pa send their regards and told me to invite you for dinner"

Color left Jiraya's face at the mention of dinner.

"S...sorry I'm kinda busy, yeah, busy tonight" shaking his head he got back to the matter at hand "Naruto, meet Gamakichi. Gamakichi, meet Naruto, the newest toad summoner"

"Pops' gonna like this one, he looks funny. Yo, I'm Gamakichi, nice to meet ya" Gamakichi offered his hand (paw,fin,whatever?) to Naruto, who had to crouch down "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. Likewise" he returned with a smile. He liked the little guy. If he could scare Jiraya that easily...for the first time in over four months he felt the distinctive need to do a prank. Gamakichi jumped on Naruto's shoulder, and he didn't mind in the least

"So? What do we do now?" Gamakichi asked curiously.

"Well, I'm supposed to summon your 'pops' apparently to get his blessing or something" Naruto replied.

"Ahhh, that stuff. Might wanna wait about ten more minutes though" the small toad mused

"Why exactly?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow

"Pops hates people who get him up from lunch without either a good fight or good sake"

"Sounds like a swell guy"

From behind them, Jiraya watched as the two talked and bonded. What Naruto didn't know was that he was already accepted as the summoner, the rest was mostly protocol.

"It should be safe about now" Jiraya offhandedly commented. Gamakichi jumped off Naruto's shoulder and hopped off to Jiraya. Both took a few steps back as Naruto mentally prepared himself

"Naruto! Pull as much chakra as you can into this one and call for Gamabunta!" Jiraya shouted

"Sure,sure" Naruto muttered as he began going through handseals, channeling half of his chakra

"Summoning Jutsu : Gamabunta!" he shouted slamming his right hand on the ground. This time the array was bigger. MUCH bigger. Both Sage and toad watched in awe as a mighty cloud of smoke faded away to reveal the massive form of Gamabunta, Boss Toad Summon. The mountain sized toad stood with one hand on his massive knife and the other on his pipe, while Naruto stood on top of it's nose

"**JIRAYA!!!**" the massive voice bellowed, and said white-haired pervert silently prayed that the old toad wouldn't go ballistic "**Why the hell did you summon me in the middle of my after-lunch nap if there isn't a fight?**"

Gamabunta's massive eyes suddenly focused on the small presence on his nose

"He didn't summon you. I did" Naruto loudly replied. For a moment, silence reigned, before a thunderous laughter broke out

"**Bwahahaha... Nice one kiddo. Almost worth getting me up from my nap. Now where's that pervert?**"

"Hey pops!" Gamakichi suddenly appeared on Naruto's shoulder

"**Gamakichi? What are you doing here?**" his father scolded

"Hey, don't get mad. Blondie here summoned me, right before he summoned you" Gamakichi explained, while the older toad simply humphed.

"**Since my son is vouching for you, I'll give you a chance. So, what's your name kiddo?**"

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi" Naruto loudly replied, his foxy grin never leaving his face. Gamabunta laughed

"**Figures!**" he roared, holding his pipe in one hand."**So, you want to ride up there, huh? Know this kiddo, I serve no one,but I might be willing to take you on as my subordinate, but only if you're good enough**"

Naruto winced, it was barely visible but still there "Good enough? I'll be the best there is!" Naruto shouted, a bit of his old self coming out once more, although he managed to restrain himself before he insulted the giant toad. Being jumped on by someone of that size wasn't something he'd like to experience. Ever. Gamabunta chuckled again.

"**Really?**" he asked, grinning "**Gamakichi, find the old pervert and tell him to get the hell out of here and get me some sake while I 'test' this Uzumaki-Namikaze character**" Naruto suddenly realized where he'd seen that grin before. On Anko when she got a new victim '_Shit_'

"If you can hold onto my head til nightfall, I'll accept you as a summoner, and will reply to your summons as will all the other toads." He explained the rules.

_'Hold onto his head? What the hell is he smok.... oh shit'_

"You're going to jump around are you?_" _he asked with genuine concern for his well-being

"**Smart kid, just like your dad. If you survive, I think I'm gonna like you**" Gamabunta finished as he jumped off, rising far above the clouds. This was going to be a long day.

In the mean time, four figures were sitting near a cliff at a safe distance, playing poker.

"Three of a kind, Queens!" Jiraya shouted as he slammed his cards in front of the others. Gamakichi smirked

"Full house, king high!" he put down his cards. The other two figures, a pair of elderly toads, made equally evil grins

"Do you tell them Ma, or do I?" Fukasaku, the toad elder asked

"Go on" Shime, his wife and the other elder toad replied

"Sorry Jiraya-chan, but you lose" Fukasku put down his cards

"Four of a kind, Jacks"

"Damn, and just when I thought I was winning" Gamakichi whined.

"How are those two doing?" Ma asked

"Not bad I suppose, although I wonder which one of them will get tired first. Bunta is stubborn as a mule, and the kid is a stamina freak." Jiraya replied.

As night fell Gamabunta and Naruto were still at it

"**Ready to give up kiddo?**" Gamabunta tauntingly asked. After this long, he really wanted the kid to succeed.

"Yeah, as soon as you give up drinking and smoking!" Naruto shouted as he kept putting out chakra through his entire body to keep himself glued to his opponent's nose

"**Hah! Like that's gonna happen!**" Gamabunta grunted as he once more landed, mildly winded, while Naruto was exhausted and barely holding on. The sun had finally set

"**Hey kiddo?**"

"What now?" Gamabunta pointed towards the sun... which was no longer there.

Insert wide grin on both parties, as Naruto finally fainted from exhaustion. Jiraya and the three toads jumped to them, Jiraya picking up the now-sleeping Naruto in his arms

"**When he wakes up, remind him that he passed my test and that I'll be dropping by sometime for a drink. Gamakichi, how do you feel about the kiddo?**"

"Why pops? He's okay, and from what I can tell he should be fun"

"**Good, from this point onward, you're his personal summon, so you'll be staying here with him. Drop by home from time to time son**" Gamabunta quickly explained before unsummoning himself.

"That went rather well don't you think?" Pa said

"You're not the one who has to explain to his girlfriend that he'll be to tired to greet her when she gets back from her mission" Jiraya deadpanned, while the other three laughed, Ma and Pa leaving and Gamakichi jumping on Naruto to sleep as well. With a proud smile, Jiraya carried them off to Naruto's apartment.

* * *

**Author's notes: **This chapter was damn hard to write mostly because of the date and it's consequences. I kinda stink at that stuff, so forgive me if it's nut up to scratch. Also, the training might seem a bit cramped up, but seriously, I didn't want to reveal every detail yet. I've written most of the jutsu he'll be revealing, minus a few finishers he's saving for the invasion. The next chapter is the last few days before the invasion, which will mostly be messing around with the boys and girls, battle plans, some AnkoXNaruto fluff, and of course all of the matches!

Also, I'm keeping the Transparency Jutsu as a ninjutsu rather than genjutsu mostly for the purpose of a few tricks that Naruto will be learning. As well, Naruto did learn to perform all five jutsu he was left with, but he only mastered the Transparency and Blade of Wind, Needle Jizo is usable and applicable, but a LOT weaker than Jiraya's, and the Five Element Seal is too complicated to stop using hand seals. Swamp of the underworld is silent, but that's it, until he builds up his affinity, he can't really do things like when Jiraya sank that giant snake. I'm also keeping the sword moves as a surprise for the finals!

Enjoy, R&R.


	11. The Invasion : Deception

**Author's Notes_: _**Before I start this chapter there are a few very important things to point out, mostly relating to the number of troops available to every of the ninja nations. Personally, I don't believe that at any point Konoha had more than one thousand (1.000) active ninja, and I doubt that any of the other villages were that numerous. Seeing as a single talented generation brought nine new genin, the numbers simply don't make sense. Ninja are elite troops, even the genin and therefore they prefer quality over quantity. Also, these are ninja _villages_ not ninja metropolises, so I doubt the population of any single one of them went over five thousand (Seriously, I think even these are great exaggerations, I mean, I like the idea of thousands upon thousands of troops facing each other off in combat, but it simply doesn't make sense). I can assume that every generation produces between ten and twenty potential genin, out of which a half passes.

So, as a conclusion, here's a bit of details on the three ninja villages important to this chapter, as I see them, and keep in mind that these numbers may yet be changed as I haven't yet decided on them

Konohagakure

Population

Total : 10k

Genin-to-Jounin Shinobi :1200

ANBU : 150

Hunter-nin :100

Otogakure

Population

Total : 700 (all shinobi) scattered among bases. Up to two hundred in a single location

Rest unknown

Sunagakure

Population

Total : 9500

Shinobi : 1050

Rest unknown

One more detail. After careful consideration(read, coin toss) I have decided to make Shukaku a female.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

_Chapter 11 : Invasion : Deception_

_(04:15, Uchiha District)_

Dawn was still a while away as a large number of shadows crept into the mostly abandoned area better known as the Uchiha district. Very few people would know what was to happen there, and the concealed forms of every single ANBU operative present at the time in Konoha were there to make sure of it. Two specific shadows reached the doors of one Sasuke Uchiha's home, the former residence of the Clan Head of the Uchiha. The single visible guard who stood there briefly nodded as he waited for the identifications. The two pulled out a pair of scrolls from the cloaks that covered them both entirely. The guard opened both scrolls, and after a short look returned them, letting both of them pass inside.

The larger of the two removed the hood and the cloak as soon as they were inside revealing it to be Naruto, and the figure next to him Anko. They both walked quietly as they approached the former Council chambers, a well isolated and protected area that was perfect for the meeting that was to follow.

Naruto and Anko walked into the large circular chamber and seated themselves on the floor. There were a lot of people present, some of which they knew. The entire Rookie 9, plus Gai's team, the Hokage, Yakushi Saito, along with his adopted son Kabuto, representing the Medic Corps, Cat, Tiger and commander Wolf representing the ANBU, of course all of the jounin still present in Konoha, along with all of the clan heads and of course Jiraya of the Sannin.

Naruto and Anko were seated in different areas, Naruto with his genin team and Anko among the jounin. There was still a little time before the meeting started, and as usual, general chatter and gossiping ensued.

"Long time, no see dobe" Sasuke jokingly greeted is friend.

"Nice to see you too Sasuke, Sakura" Naruto greeted them both. "How was your training? I heard from Kabuto that you were advancing quickly, but he wouldn't tell me any details" Sakura beamed at the praise, although was mildly curious just how Naruto knew about Kabuto training her. Seeing the look on her face, he smiled "Kabuto's my neighbor. We talk, you know?" he jokingly reassured her, as she prepared to answer, only to be interrupted by a loud cough. Instantly the room quieted down as the hokage stood up and walked to the central area. A few murmurs still persisted

"Quiet down everyone" Sarutobi started in a firm voice "I know most of you are nervous about being lifted out of your bed at an early hour, but before the day starts, this meeting must be over. So let's get started."

"As most of you are aware, Otogakure, under the leadership of Orochimaru is preparing an invasion, and according to recent intelligence reports Sunagakure will be joining as well. Our spies in Suna have reported around that the group they sent will be about six hundred in number. We have no current knowledge of the numbers Orochimaru will have with him, but we assume that he will be bringing his elites, which should account for another four hundred"

Whispers followed the explanation, as the few who didn't know about this were informed of the details. A number of people were looking in Naruto's direction, knowing that he was directly responsible for at least half of the information about the invasion.

"Now, to the situation at hand. Shikaku-san?" Sarutobi politely called, as the elder Nara walked out into the middle of the area.

"Yes. After thoroughly analyzing the situation the most likely point of attack would actually be the very arena where the exams are being held, a combined assault from infiltrated units that will attempt to take out the stronger ninja that are present in the arena, while a combined force besieges the village from the outside. We also assume that, due to his hatred of this village and it's leadership, Orochimaru will most likely be leading the infiltration group along with his bodyguards, the Sound Four. We are expecting that the other targets will include the Hospital, Academy"

"Thank you" Sarutobi said while they one more exchanged places. "Each of you has received a sealed scroll with orders. You are to unseal them once this meeting is over. The scrolls will contain the position you are supposed to be at, your direct superior officer who's orders you are to follow, and his direct superior, should your leader end up KIA. All assassination squads are being given the profiles of their primary and secondary targets. Also, to all those interested, all the information we have on the enemy ninja has been gathered and compiled, and placed on that desk" he points to a rather large desk covered with small folders" Those will be given out before this meeting is adjourned. Now that this part is over with, I would like to invite Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraya for a rather important demonstration."

All of the members of the rookie 9 along with quite a few older shinobi watched Naruto with no small surprise as only a few of them knew that he was training with Jiraya, let alone working on something with him. The pair walked down into the center of the large room carrying two sets of four scrolls each. Both were also smirking.

"Naruto, would you do the honors?" Jiraya quietly asked

"You sure sensei?" Naruto asked back, while Jiraya was mildly shocked at what Naruto called him

"Yeah. Consider it training" he jokingly added. Naruto turned and pulled out one of the scrolls. He was damn proud of this work, even if it was done in secrets, as it was his greatest work in fuinjutsu so far. Unfurling the scroll, he pushed just enough chakra into it. Out of the scroll popped out a large metallic rod. Taking a deep breath Naruto began his 'lecture'

"Those of you who have read the reports about the Sound Four have probably noticed that they are barrier experts, which can turn out into a severe issue should they use some of the advanced variants. As such, Hokage-sama has ordered the only two seal experts in Konoha, namely Jiraya-sama and me to try and come up with an effective countermeasure. These rods" Naruto lifted the silvery metal rod into the air to make it visible to everyone "are the results of a month's collaboration" Naruto paused there, waiting for the information to sink in. He noticed that a few people had questions. One of the younger chunin, one he didn't know raised his hand to ask a question.

"Yes?"

"Uzumaki-san, would you explain a bit just why are those barriers so dangerous?" he asked curiously. Naruto stood for a moment, considering how to reply.

"An example might work best I suppose. One of the easier advanced barriers, the Four Point Absorption Barrier creates a field that surrounds it's makers and absorbs any jutsu sent at it to power itself. It also stops anything from passing through by forcing it out. In theory, the field can be overpowered, but I certainly doubt that we would have the time to do so. Such barriers are normally impenetrable without either prior preparation or a group of barrier experts to disable it. Now imagine this scenario, where this village is caught of guard, and the Hokage gets isolated fighting Orochimaru and the Kazekage while the Sound Four cordon off any access. As strong as Sandaime-sama is, he would be hard-pressed to win without serious injury or death."

The explanation served it's purpose, as a lot of sobered up faces now followed him carefully, while a few others proudly watched.

"As for the purpose of these rods, they are the chakra equivalent of lightning rods, to put things simply. They will draw chakra from any barrier they are connected to and either store it in it's chakra storage, or if that is full, will simply discharge it into the air. As all barriers are chakra constructs, draining the chakra their makers provide will disrupt and ultimately break down _any _barrier." With a short break for air, Naruto placed the other scrolls into his pockets as he held the rod in his hands

"Contrary to what you may think, these are damn hard to make, and we managed to produce four sets of four pieces each. Why four per set? Simple, we are facing a group of four, and should one not be sufficient to break down a barrier, the four of them will. Keep in mind that this is a weapon as well as a tool. By adapting a few arrays, it is now possible to discharge the gathered energy in the form of a concentrated bolt of lightning worthy of any normal lightning jutsu, aimed at any target." Naruto completed the explanation and felt once more the proud hand of his teacher on his shoulder. The smile that Jiraya had on his face told everything he needed to know. He had done well.

"Among you, four teams will be selected to carry a set of the 'Breakers' each. They will be given to you sealed, only to be revealed should you encounter any barriers as their storage is empty. Second, a team will be assigned to work as my escort while we sweep any potential summoning circles and sabotage their general troops. Orochimaru has a contract with Manda, the Snake Boss, and I doubt he'd mind offering our people as sacrifice for his minions, which he could, thanks to the circles, summon en mass" Jiraya explained, sending a shiver up many spines. Summons were something that could easily tip the scales in battle, and numerous ones were something to be concerned about. A few people raised their hands "While I appreciate you volunteering kids, don't. I need one squad, and those already got the job. We need you at other areas." Jiraya finished and the two of them left the podium, once more replaced by Sarutobi.

"Well, that's it for this briefing. Should more information come up, you will be informed. Dismissed"

With those words, within moments nearly half of the people in the room simply vanished. The other half started walking out in small groups, the final one consisting of Sasuke, Anko, Naruto and Kakashi. As they walked out, Kakashi decided it was about time to confirm certain rumors

"Naruto, a little birdie told me you and Anko are an item. Any truth to that?" he asked innocently, while Sasuke momentarily lost control and simply gaped at them, truly surprised that Naruto of all people cold get in a relationship. Naruto threw a foxy grin while putting his arm around Anko.

"Quite true Kakashi-sensei. We've been an 'item' as you put it for nearly a month" he explained in a content tone. Kakashi mock-cried and gave Naruto a thumbs up

"I am so proud of you Naruto"

"Strange, that's exactly what ero-sennin did. Wonder why?" he jokingly asked no one in particular. Anko and Kakashi laughed while Sasuke looked at him strangely. Deciding it was time to chat up a bit with his friend, he kissed Anko goodby and left with Sasuke to get a drink. The two soon found themselves in the infamous nameless shinobi bar. One thing was certain about that place, if one didn't know what he was looking for, he would never find it. Also, the 'strange' fact that non-shinobi and foreigners kept a safe distance from the place helped

The two of them got one of the booths in the back, a well concealed place where one could easily talk without being overheard. After ordering some sake they finally started talking.

"Spill it. How did you and Anko get together?" Sasuke asked. For a moment Naruto thought that Ino was sitting in front of him, considering that she was the queen of gossips.

"Curious aren't we?" Naruto teased "Fine. We met about around my last birthday during my self-imposed vacation to the forest outside the village. My birthdays aren't something I like to spend home. We talked, and after that we met a few times, messed around and stuff. It just kinda happened" Naruto explained. Sasuke chuckled at the end

"Just like in the movies, eh dobe?" Sasuke joked. Naruto smiled. He liked this new Sasuke that had appeared since they became ninja. He would never admit it out loud, but he held a great deal of respect for the raven-haired Uchiha. It took a strong will not to break after what he went through, seeing your family die before you and having it repeated in front of your eyes for seventy-two hours was no joke. '_Well, time for a well placed barb anyway_'

"At least I'm closer to rebuilding my clan than you teme" he teasingly replied, to which Sasuke scowled, but he quickly composed himself

"Didn't know you had one Naruto.." he near whispered

"I'll tell you about it in a few days" Naruto replied, not really willing to talk about it now. It was still too dangerous. Sasuke, knowing just how stubborn Naruto could be, sighed and gave up on the subject

"How did your training with Kakashi go?" Naruto started, hoping to continue the conversation

"Harsh. Remember all that lazing around he used to do?" Naruto nodded "Well, he's a slave driver when he wants to be. Though I did learn a lot during the past month"

Naruto laughed. Kakashi was a former ANBU captain. He knew how to get the job done.

"What about you? I heard rumors you were trained by Jiraya of the Sannin, and then that stunt the two of you pulled today... what was that all about?"

"Don't ask" Naruto said in an annoyed tone "Apart from telling you the fact that he was helping me train, everything else is considered classified information. Aside from what you heard today that is." another sigh "On a more entertaining thought, have you heard anything about the others? I only heard about Sakura being trained by Kabuto, and that's only because he's living in my building"

Sasuke sat silently for a second, before taking his first sip of sake '_Not a bad taste, I see why the others like the stuff'_

"I don't really know much myself. From what I heard, the teams have mostly worked apart, each team for themselves. I'm pretty sure that Hinata and Neji are training together though" he slowly explained, opting for another sip afterward

"Oh? That's news." pause, sip "How do you think all of this will turn out?" he asked in an unusually serious tone. Sasuke sighed

"Damn me if I know. But I think I'll take a page from your book on this one."

"Really? I think I'm feeling proud" Naruto commented with a mock serious face

"Really. Give it my all and kick their asses till they can't move" replied with an equal one. Both burst into laughter, before paying up and parting ways.

The clouds were gathering. Naruto guessed that the first snow would fall soon. Perhaps it was time for another visit to one of his favorite places in Konoha. With a small, barely visible smile, Naruto speed off towards the Hokage Monument, using the surface of the cliff to move up. When he finally reached the top, he realized that the sun hadn't yet come up. The view was beautiful, even if the chilling wind made the stay somewhat unpleasant. He had some thinking to do. Seating himself on the carved head of his father he contently watched the sky. He suddenly smiled

"Couldn't wait anymore hime?" he asked in a slightly cheerful voice. A slight chuckle was heard behind him as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a charging Anko. Naruto laughed as he hugged her

"I missed you all the time you were gone" he said, suddenly turning serious.

"Would you believe me if I told you I couldn't stop thinking about you?" Anko asked him. After planting a kiss on her lips, Naruto silently nodded.

"It's funny how things change and in such a short time" she quietly started, still lying atop of him on the ground, hugging his body for all it was worth "If someone told me a year ago I would fall in love like this, I would have laughed at them" she whispered

"Right before you threw a kunai at them" Naruto added, earning him a poke in the chest

"Know-it-all" she muttered, trying her best to sound angry. She still couldn't believe it. She had someone who truly _loved_ her. Kurenai was a dear friend, but this was different. A different she very much liked. She kissed him again, once more savoring the sweet taste of his lips _'Ramen and sake. It's actually a nice combination' _She hugged him and decided to leave it at that for now. He hugged her back and the two of them remained in a gentle embrace for some time.

"Anko-hime?" Naruto softly whispered. There was one last secret he had to reveal to her. It was eating him on the inside, the fact that he didn't tell her. "I have something to tell you, but I think I should say it at home."

Anko looked at him suspiciously, wondering just what the blond had in store, but nodded in agreement.

"Fine, but you're making breakfast" she 'threatened', eliciting another laugh from Naruto. He couldn't remember laughing, really laughing this much before he met her.

The young couple silently moved back to the apartment, Naruto indeed opting to make breakfast for the two of them. He was slightly nervous, but still, it wasn't anything bad, so he doubted there would be problems.

"Spill it" Anko shortly said, slightly annoyed that their fun was interrupted. Naruto nodded and activated all of the security barriers the apartment had.

"A while ago, I discovered who my parents were" he shortly started "I think it was right after the preliminaries, when the old man called me in and told me everything."

Anko quietly listened to his speech, wondering if her suspicions were correct.

"Turns out, my father was..."

"Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime hokage?" she finished. Naruto was startled

"How..?"

"Did I know? I didn't, but it's not really that hard to tell. I mean, how many blue-eyed blonds are there in Konoha? Not to mention that if you added whiskers to his head on the monument he'd look just like you" she explained with a gentle smile. Naruto made another of his sheepish grins. It was obvious, except for the fact that people simply didn't want to look for it.

"My mother was Uzumaki Kushina, and it turns out Jiraya is my godfather, which you probably didn't know. Also, we're moving into the estate as soon as the invasion is over. I'm making it public then. Until that happens, I'll just stay as Uzumaki Naruto"

"So, does that make me the next ms. Namikaze?" she jokingly asked, but her smile faded when she saw his serious face.

"Only if you want to" he quietly said "But I don't think we should rush things. Don't get me wrong, I love you, there's no doubt to that, I just think we should take this one step at a time"

Anko got up and went over to the kitchen. "You really are a spoilsport, you know?" she commented in a mock sad voice.

"Yeah, yeah..." he replied, waving her off "We really should get ready for tomorrow. And I made something special for you as well" he added with a devious smile, one that Anko had come to know and love, especially when it was aimed at someone who was an enemy.

An hour later, Anko gleefully followed him to his desk where two scrolls were placed one next to the other. He picked up the one marked 'Anko' and handed it to her

"This is a set of additional equipment I prepared for you Anko-chan. A set of fifty of my improved kunai, ten improved exploding tags, five chakra restraint tags, two poison senbon trap scrolls and finally a 'Breaker'. I wish I could make more, but I was somewhat short on time"

All the while Anko was staring at him like he had grown an extra head. '_More? Is he crazy? This is better than the standard ANBU mission set. But it will be fun_'

"Anko-hime? Are you okay?" he asked in a slightly worried tone, before he noticed the thoroughly evil grin on her face '_May Kami have mercy on her enemies... she certainly won't_' she finally calmed down a few seconds later, remembering something

"Naru-kun, could you show me how to use that 'Breaker'?" she asked. Naruto nodded and unsealed his own scroll, drawing out the metallic rod. Anko got her first chance to observe the device. The rod itself was made from black iron, and rather than a pipe, it was a full cylinder, about for feet in length. The entire surface was covered with intricately carved, interconnected silver seals

"As much as I hate to admit it, while this was my idea, it was Jiraya who did most of the work. You see these two seals?" he asked, pointing to two rather obvious large arrays. Anko nodded "This one controls it's absorption. Activate it and stick it into what you want it to drain. The chakra storage on the rod will fill up as much as possible, and the rest will go out. The other one allows you to discharge the stores into a single bolt of lightning aimed by this side. It should 'shaken up' the competition, no?" he jokingly added, while Anko was making a sinister smile that would make Orochimaru proud. The smile vanished as she grabbed Naruto and dragged him off to the bedroom for another make-out session.

Later that day Naruto would unseal the scroll with the orders from the Hokage, only to smirk at what he read

"This is going to be interesting" he quietly commented as he stroked Anko's hair

_(Tomorrow morning, Naruto and Anko's apartment)_

Several stabbing sounds were heard from the apartment as a number of kunai, shuriken and other harder to identify projectiles utterly annihilated an unfortunate alarm clock. Naruto's eyes snapped open instantly as he got up, Anko only steps behind. There was nothing said, today was the day the invasion was going to happen. After a quick breakfast, the two of them got sat on the couch, spending a much time as they could together before they would have to go.

"Take care my love" Naruto whispered as he hugged Anko goodbye. With a small wink, she decided on a kiss.

"You know I always do" she replied before they parted ways

_(Same time, Uchiha district)_

Uchiha Sasuke was currently standing in his family's shrine, offering prayers to the powers that be to protect him and his friends. He lit another stick of incense and got up, carrying in his arms the sword that had for generations stayed in his family, forged by it's founder Madara. It was a good sword, but deceptively simple, without any decorations on it. For years it had been left in the shrine, as the clan council forbade anyone from wielding it, but now, he certainly didn't care about the opinion of dead fossils. A sword wasn't meant to stand as a decoration.

"My this blade once more protect our homes" he prayed in whisper, before drawing the blade from it's sheath. While hardly an expert at kenjutsu, he could recognize a good swords when he saw one, and this sword, known simply as the 'Flame Spirit' was a perfect blade. It's unblemished surface was a near perfect gray, the blade itself was well balanced, cutting through the air with no resistance. Strapping the unassuming blade to his side, he prepared himself for the finals.... and the invasion that would follow. Walking over to his own bedroom he gathered all of his equipment and finally unsealed the scroll with the orders. His eyes widened at the text within, and after re-reading it several times, he burnt it.

"Oh, the irony" he sarcastically commented as he left his home.

_(Haruno Family Home, Sakura's room)_

Sakura sighed for what was probably the hundredth time this morning. Going through her mental checklist, she prepared everything she needed for the battle that would come soon. The skills and routines that Kabuto drilled into her head were something that she did instinctively now. She had changed her outfit. She wore black skin-tight shorts, with a red sleeveless shirt and knee-high ninja sandals. Putting on a pair of fingerless leather gloves, she finally deemed herself battle-ready. _(I once more repeat that I stink at describing outfits, this is her outfit from shippuden, since I have to admit that I prefer that one). _The holster on her right leg contained a set of scrolls, holding everything from first aid kits to shuriken, kunai and senbon.

"I still have an hour to go before the matches start...I wonder what Ino is doing..." she thought out loud while pacing in her room.

_(Hyuuga compound, Neji's room)_

An eerie silence, broken only by sounds of breathing permeated the room. Neji Hyuuga had spent the better part of last night in deep meditation, considering his path in life. Like so many others, he had thought of one person in particular, Uzumaki Naruto. Originally, he had thought the blond was an idiot, not even worth the time wasted to speak of him. Hinata had always thought highly of him, even when all others shunned him or laughed at him. Could she really have been right? Could his younger cousin's eyes truly have seen more than his?

"Is my fate truly set in stone?" he asked himself as he watched the reflection of the Caged Bird seal on the impeccably polished surface of his hitai-ate "Or can it change?"

_(Hotel room, eastern part of Konoha)_

Subaku no Gaara, the jinchuriki of Shikaku was worried. For a person who never showed any concern for the rest of the universe and considered his purpose in life to prove his existence by ending the lives of others, it was a new feeling. 'Mother' had been strangely quiet since yesterday, and his own siblings seemed to be oblivious to the change in the wind. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he was sure of one thing, regardless of the invasion, today his life would change. For the better or worse, that still remained to be seen. He considered who the most challenging opponents could be, and his mind focused on two: Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha.

On the other side of the room, Temari was worried as well, but for different reasons. Unlike her younger brother, whom she both feared and was afraid for, she didn't have any ultimate defense, and the coming invasion today had her nervous. When she had first come, she had considered the Leaf Shinobi to be weak fools, but she quickly realized that she was wrong. The fact that they of all participating nations had the most genin in the finals spoke as much. Little did she know that her youngest brother was having similar worries.

A third, for the lack of a better word, 'person', was also considering the events to come, wondering if she could somehow be freed. A sadistic and bloodthirsty smirk crossed her lips

_(The Hokage Monument)_

"So, what do we do now?" echoed the voice. Two men, who had but a month ago sneaked into Konoha had returned. Both of their bodies were covered by the same black cloaks and hoods, perfectly invisible.

"We make sure that _they _can't interfere" the other replied, picking up his staff and standing up. "A storm is coming" he quietly noted, putting out his left hand "Even the snow is beginning to fall"

"Could you please avoid the poetic nonsense?" the first one asked.

"No appreciation for the arts" the other one sighed in defeat as they walked off.

_(The Arena, Beginning of the Finals, 9:45)_

The atmosphere at the arena was pleasant, much to the surprise of the members of the Rookie 12. The crowd was mostly chatting as they waited for the matches to begin. Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Kiba and Tenten, the only ones from the generation who failed in the preliminaries were sitting in the stands, either gossiping or waiting for the matches to begin. Each and every one of them had their orders and while they were all ready to execute them, the were also interested in who would win during the matches. Sakura had noticed the subtle and not-so-subtle changes on her friends. During the past month she had actually spent a lot of time socializing in the evenings after her training with Kabuto, and had gotten to know most of the rookies much better than she did in the academy. She was startled for a moment when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned around to find...

"Kabuto-sensei!" she almost shouted at the white-haired teen "Glad to see you could make it"

"Well someone has to keep the contestants alive.." he jokingly replied to his pupil. Not that he would tell or show, but he was proud of her. The girl had a lot of talent, and with proper training, she could probably be the next Tsunade. And her teammates weren't far off from the other two.

Down in the arena, Naruto had tuned out the speech that Sarutobi was holding, opting instead to use his Radiance and chakra tracking skills to locate anyone who doesn't belong. He noted more than a dozen shinobi whose signatures were completely foreign to him, which were most likely from Sand, seeing that they were here for the exams. The Kazekage was also strange, his chakra was... different for the lack of a better word, and it very much reminded him of... '_That answers that question, so that means that his bodyguards are probably members of his Sound Four. Wonder if the old man noticed it? Wait a sec, if that's him, where's the real one?"_

He took a look at his fellow competitors, very few of them had shown any drastic change over the month physically, but he noted that most of them had either more chakra, or in Chouji's case, a lot more muscle, but everyone was there. The ones he couldn't detect any change on were the foreigners mostly. He had to admit, there were a few people there that he wanted to match his skill and wits against, most notably Shin Tasai and that girl Merai. Hearing that Sarutobi had finished the greetings and that a new proctor was about to start explaining rules, he started listening once more.

"Everyone listen up" the man with a senbon in his mouth started "I am Shiranui Genma, and I'll be the proctor for the final part of the exams. The rules are simple, all fights are to the point where one side is either out or surrenders. Anything and everything goes. Now, apart from Neji Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki, you should all leave until your matches come up."

Up in the kage box, no one would notice the devious glint in the eyes of the Sandaime Hokage. Things were going according to plan.

_(Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuuga)_

Naruto smiled as he faced his first opponent. Snow flakes had once more began falling, but much to the shock of many Naruto was only wearing his brown pants and shirt, revealing the many tattoo seals that covered his arms. Neji made a smug smirk at his opponent, while Naruto simply laughed it off. He was itching for a good fight.

"You seem to be in a good mood" Neji idly commented

"Just getting ready to kick your ass" Naruto jokingly replied, which Neji ignored. While he wanted to believe that this was a nobody who couldn't even touch him, over the past month he had learned better. The story Hinata told him of the mission where her team assisted them was enough to give him reason to worry.

Genma eyed the two, content that they at least wouldn't be killing each other, which was more than he could say about some others.

"Alright, begin!" he shouted as he jumped away. Naruto and Neji both took taijutsu stances, eying each other carefully

"Up for a challenge Hyuuga boy?" Naruto almost mockingly asked

"From you dead-last? Anytime" Neji replied. Naruto however only smirked as he broke off his taijutsu stance and unsealed his sword. A few 'ooohs' and 'ahhs' were heard from the audience as people recognized the famous Kubikiri Houcho in the boy's hands.

"Allow me to introduce you to my new and improved sword style, known simply as the 'Dance of Ruin'" Naruto shortly announced "It's still untested against a live opponent and hardly complete, but it should prove... challenging, even without the killing techniques I created" he near whispered the last part, for Neji's ears only.

"Shall we?" He asked.

"By all means do" Neji replied as the veins around his eyes bulged out and his eyes took the characteristic shape of an active Byakugan.

'_What the...? How the hell did he do that?_' Neji inwardly cursed as he noticed that Naruto's chakra network was invisible beneath a second layer of chakra that loosely fitted the shape of his clothes

"What's the matter Neji? Your all-seeing sight failing you?" Naruto taunted, but in a more jovial tone, without malice "Maybe you should get glasses"

Now, Neji was getting pissed off. For all his intellect Neji had a bit of a temper on him, and one of the few things that could piss him off was when someone had insulted his ability, or worse, his sight.

'_That's it Neji, we need to give the folks a show, otherwise they'll suspect something_' Naruto silently mused as he prepared for the assault. Seeing that Neji decided against charging, Naruto did it himself. Quickly summoning a pair of Shadow Clones, he stood quietly while the pair charged, blades ready to kill or maim. Naruto watched Neji's speed and reaction intently, as he easily dodged the two swords and destroyed the clones with a pair of well places juuken blows. For a moment, Naruto winced at the memory of getting a blow like that.

"I see, quite interesting" Naruto quietly commented. One of the things that he had learned during the past months was how to keep cool and calculating during combat. Jiraya's help on the subject was of great aid. Neji's reaction speed was just a bit lower than his own, which was damn impressive and also meant that the chances that he would catch him off-guard were low at best. And a single blow to a wrong place could mean the end of the fight for him.

It was time for him to enter the fight. With a bit of chakra he formed the shell around the sword. His constant training had given him enough strength to effortlessly hold the sword in one hand as he charged.

Much to Neji's dismay, the style was deadly. The quick fluid motions as Naruto kept leaping around, waving the blade at great speeds, fast enough that he had problems parrying the blows, and even adding kicks and punches to the combination. He knew that there was no way he could outlast him, only two others even stood a chance of doing so. (**AN:**Guess who? :D) He would have to either outsmart him, which wouldn't be easy, or outmaneuver him, which would be equally hard since he didn't have enough time to perform his **kaiten **and send him away. He had to admit it, Naruto was damn good with his sword.

Merai watched the match with growing curiosity. She had heard rumors that a certain nin from Leaf had acquired the sword of Zabuza Momochi, and she had found out that not only were the rumors true, but it's new wielder was more than just skilled. But what seriously surprised her were the moves he used. The style was oddly familiar to her, but she couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

'_I wonder why Mizukage-sama gave that order?_'

Next to her Shin Tasai was enjoying the match. Naruto Uzumaki had proven to be a genuine surprise, and quite a contrast to the records their spies managed to acquire. He was beginning to wonder if said files were intentionally faked to keep his skill hidden.

_'The boss-lady gave her orders, and it looks like this time, it will be fun to follow them'_

Their third member, Nakai Kitsugen enjoyed watching a fellow swordsman, even though he was originally insulted that someone would claim the Kubikiri Houcho, Naruto had so far proven himself to be a worthy warrior.

Neji persevered, waiting for an opening to strike back at his opponent, and it finally paid off. Five minutes into the charge, he slipped a single strike to a nerve cluster in Naruto's right arm, completely disabling it bellow the elbow. Using the opening he created, he instantly disabled the other arm at the same place. The sword dropped with a heavy sound, raising a cloud of dust even as the snow began covering the ground. Naruto jumped back, dodging blows as he moved.

"Ready to surrender Uzumaki?" Neji asked with a smug look on his face, certain that his enemy was done for. What could he possibly do without his arms? He was about to find out.

"You know, I really didn't want to use this yet, but then again, you're a good opponent." he replied with a wide smile. And closed his eyes. Neji instantly tensed up, he still remembered that Naruto had no problems fighting blind. Suddenly, the people in the crowd saw him jump, only for the place he was standing at to explode while Naruto was only holding his arms at his sides, still disabled from the blows.

"Not bad Neji... but how long can you keep it up?" Naruto asked in a monotone voice, revealing the level of concentration he was holding at the moment. '**Chakra Art**' he silently mused 'I wonder how much time will it take him to figure out what's going on?'

Neji was shocked and frightened for the first time in years. It took his all just to keep up with the explosions, and his only warning was a short buildup of chakra before it flared.

Up in the crowds a certain cyclops watched in shock. It was a jutsu his sensei had created, however not even he was this fast with it... And next to him a slightly worried Gai was watching his pupil getting manhandled.

Naruto kept his focus on the seal arrays he was making beneath Neji's feet, making sure he gave him just enough time to dodge without getting badly hurt. With a plan in head and his hands finally recovering from the attack, he slowly walked over and picked up his sword. He almost spent the amount of chakra he had set aside for this match. Time for the finisher. With his sword firmly in hand, he stopped making more seals, leaving a winded Neji a few moments to recuperate.

"You know, you can still surrender" he said in a serious voice. Neji just stared back at him "Fine then. One final clash?"

"Fine" Neji replied as he prepared. He was caught of guard once. There would not be a second time. He too had a few tricks up his sleeve. He hadn't tried it yet, but he was ready. As Naruto moved forward to land a blow he heard Neji speaking in a serious voice

"You are within my field of divination" the words echoed as Naruto's world slowed down

"Eight Trigrams" the voice continued "Sixty-Four Palms" All of Naruto's instincts screamed for him to pull back, to get away as soon as possible, but he silenced them. As the first strike came in, so did the blade of his sword, the flat side heading straight for Neji's head. He painfully realized that most of the blows would land

"Two palms! Four palms!" Neji shouted as the speed drastically increased"Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty two palms! Sixty four palms!"The final blow landed, completely sealing off Naruto's chakra pathways, but the sword also reached it's victim dealing a strong blow to Neji's head, one that brought him to the floor, unconscious. Naruto himself wasn't much better, as he also fell to the ground, barely having the strength to move. Not the wisest decision he made. Using his sword as a crutch he slowly, but surely lifted himself from the ground and looked at the proctor while shambling off to help Neji out.

"Winner Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto was shocked to hear the crowd cheering for _him. _Him of all people. With a wide smile he turned to face them all. Acceptance, the thing he craved his entire life. Few noticed just how strong his hand gripped the hilt of his sword. He would protect them, even if it cost him his life. Waking up the downed Neji with a few slaps and a bit of smelling salts, the medics escorted them both from the arena to the local medical bay for healing. As soon as their room was vacated, a group of ANBU medics moved in, dropping the genjutsu that concealed them.

"Wounds?" the leader, wearing a rabbit asked

"Mild concussion and burns on the legs" Naruto explained for Neji

"Sealed chakra pathways" Neji continued in the same style.

The leader nodded and turned to his two teammates "Hawk, you take Uzumaki, Lion, you and I are taking care of the Hyuuga" Both gave a short nod as they moved to their intended patient.

"Relax Naruto-san, you should be up an running within ten minutes." Hawk explained as his hands glowed green.

And indeed, ten minutes later both shinobi were standing and checking their equipment, the three medic long gone to wait for the next team to drop in.

"You think they bought it?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It would seem so. We both gave a convincing performance" Neji quietly replied. Naruto sighed before turning to his set of equipment.

"Did you pack everything Neji?" Naruto asked in a professional voice. Any grudges or other such matters were left behind at that moment.

"Hai. Although I could use some more soldier pills" he quietly noted, to which Naruto nodded and unsealed a small bag which he passed over.

"Ten pills, standard issue. Should be enough for your squad" He shortly explained.

"It should. Is your chakra network back to normal?" Neji politely inquired.

"Yes." he stopped for a moment to unseal his red coat. "I think we're ready" Neji shortly commented, as both their features softened "Hai, let's go watch the rest of the matches."

Both of them quickly hid all of their additional equipment in scroll which were carefully concealed beneath their clothing before leaving for the stands. Once they got there, they split up, each going for his own team. Naruto noticed Sasuke going down for the arena

"Hey, wasn't the second match supposed to be between Shino and that Kankuro guy?"

Sasuke nodded "Kankuro forfeited"

"Oh, joy... so much for disabling one of them. Wait, that means you're up... and against Gaara, right?"

"Yeah. I have a bad feeling about this" Sasuke finally replied after standing quiet for a few moments.

"No kidding. Look, I don't know if they told you, but the guy's a jinchuriki like me. He's dangerous, so play it safe, okay? And don't get yourself killed. If you can't beat him, just bail, I have something special in mind for him"

"Is that an order?" he asked with a smirk, while inside he was curious as to what the blond had in mind for Gaara

"Yes, that's an order" Naruto replied before patting the teen on the shoulder "Kick ass" he added before leaving for the stands.

_(Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara Subaku)_

With a perfectly calm facade, Sasuke Uchiha stepped into the arena. Across from his was his opponent. The downright murderous and bloodthirsty glare that Gaara sent him brought a shiver up his spine. But he was no longer the brash idiot who would have run into things blindly. He held his hands calmly as he studied his opponent. Gaara had no obvious weapons or tools apart from the gourd on his back..

"Begin" Genma shouted as he jumped away. Gaara's only move was to uncork his gourd, letting a mall trickle of sand escape it.

'_The records mentioned his ability to manipulate sand. I'm not using the Sharingan yet, not until I can see his moves a bit_' he silently planned. Moving through a few handseals at great speed, he brought his right hand to his lips while his left charged a set of five kunai. Without intoning it, he spat ten small fireballs, five of which had concealed shuriken. As soon as the fireballs reached Gaara, a shield of sand formed in front of him, stopping the five shuriken along with the fireballs.

"Pathetic" Gaara said in a low tone as a barrage of over a dozen shuriken made from sand separated themselves from the shield and went straight for Sasuke. With a quiet curse, Sasuke dodged the projectiles. He was glad though. He was the only one without orders to hold back as he had the toughest (and craziest) foe to face. He turned for a moment to notice that the sand shuriken had actually made holes in the walls behind him.

_'Note to self: do NOT get hit by the shuriken'_

Seeing that normal projectiles wouldn't work, the young Uchiha set his other plan into motion. If you can't cut it or stab it... you blow it up. Not giving the red-haired boy the chance to set up an attack, Sasuke pulled out eight kunai, each set with an exploding tag and threw them one by one at him.

This time though, instead of standing still and taking the attacks, Gaara moved to dodge the projectiles even as three of them embedded themselves into his shield of sand and blew pieces of it apart. However, having the front covered by the shield, he failed to notice a charging Uchiha, Sharingan blazing and a katana in his hands crackling with electricity. Gaara tried to slam a large arm of sand into him, but failed due to Sasuke dodging it and slicing at him aiming at his torso. The blow landed... but there was no blood, only a mildly shocked jinchuriki

Sasuke was startled for a moment as the surface of Gaara's skin began to crack and fall off, revealing unharmed skin beneath. Gaara began to laugh. Sasuke actually cringed from the sound, the laughter was sick, twisted and very much like the homicidal smile on his face

"Finally!" he shouted as a shell of sand began to form around him "Someone worthy to prove my existence. Mother will enjoy your blood, Uchiha"

As he finished his speech, the sphere of sand completely surrounded him as large tail-like appendage extended and tried to swat Sasuke away.

_'Something's wrong here... why would he barricade himself up like that?' _Sasuke thought as he prepared to attack him once more. Normal attacks wouldn't be enough this time. Moving back to and up the wall to get as much space as he could, he prepared for what was the pinnacle of his arsenal. Going through the few handseals that the jutsu used, he put his right hand down while holding it at the wrist with his left, he himself standing in a half-crouch. Many in the crowd watched in amazement at the crackling ball of lightning that formed in Sasuke's hand.

"**Chidori**" Sasuke softly intoned as he charged down the wall, pumping chakra into his legs as his Sharingan kept his vision clear. Numerous sand spikes appeared on the surface of the sand sphere... and were suddenly launched towards him. Sasuke twisted and jumped to dodge every incoming projectile, all the time keeping the speed at the high levels the jutsu needed to work.

Inside his safe shell, Gaara chuckled. The sand would crush the boy like all others who tried to defeat him before it. Suddenly his safe little world was crushed by a hand encased in lightning. And he felt it, the warm red liquid surged from his shoulder and flowed out. His right hand moved on instinct, touching the shoulder, while his mind was still in shock.

"Blood?" he asked himself "My blood!" he shouted"AAAARRGGHH" he screamed

On the outside, Sasuke smirked at the fact that his chidori was not only successful at breaking the sand shield but had managed to wound his enemy. That is, until he noticed the sphere once more extend spike, nearly impaling him. And finally, he felt something grasp for his hand. Worried he pulls it out and jumps back only to dodge a massive, clawed and tattooed hand made of sand.

'_What the hell now?_' he asked himself, not yet knowing just what the hell that was.

Up in the stands several figures blanched at the sight.

'_Damn it, what are you doing little brother?_' Kankuro thought, his emotions a mixture of anger and fear. Next to him his sister was clutching her battle-fan nervously, and their sensei, Baki, inwardly cursed.

Up in the kage box, a certain person smiled under his veil. While he wasn't in a hurry, he certainly didn't mind if things started a bit earlier than planned.

Outside of Konoha, a large number of ninja were waiting, some around large inscribed seals, others simply hidden in the thick forest around the village, all at a safe distance, waiting for their signal to attack. They completely failed to notice a certain white-haired man and his small group that had been messing with something

Naruto was nervously watching the fight Sasuke was in. Gaara turned out to be a lot more dangerous than predicted. No wonder Orochimaru hoped to use him as a centerpiece for his assault. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a wave of chakra cover the stadium, the makings of a strong genjutsu, trying to lull him to sleep. Not being one for such things, he quickly stabbed himself in the palm, the sting of pain instantly waking him up. In front of him, mixed with the light snow, were feathers.

Atop his command post, Wolf the ANBU commander in charge of all units in Konoha sighed at the scene in the arena beneath him. Putting his hand on the small earpiece on his left ear he uttered a single, meaningful sentence

"To all on the frequency, clearance code S-5427, engage according to operation parameters"

* * *

**Author's Ramblings: **Not exactly how I imagined it, but I intend to place the focus on this part of the story on something else, rather than the finals themselves. The next chapter or two will be the many battles and their aftermath, as well as the battle between Sarutobi and Orochimaru, along with details on the 'secret' orders every single ninja currently present received.

Also, all the characters will begin showing off the results of one month's practice, and Sasuke hasn't shown his all yet.

Oh, and since I've already spilled the details on the 'Breakers' I won't waste anymore space here. One more detail. Apart from the Chidori, most of the jutsu used and/or learned during the month break are actually E, D, C or in very rare occasions B rank.

_Edited: Alright, I get it. Chidori is an A rank jutsu. Thanks for notifying me :P_

Read and Review folks. Sdebeli out.


	12. The Invasion : Checkmate

_Chapter 13 : The Aftermath_

**Author's Ramblings:** Before we start, this will be a somewhat unusual chapter for me, as Naruto will be a bit more talkative than usual. Also, I would ask you not to give me any bs about Naruto beating Gaara too easily. Naruto is the jinchuriki of the Nine tailed fox, one of the most powerful entities in existence, and the son of a Kage on top. He is literally predetermined to be powerful as hell. And let's face it, if someone can blow away his sand, Gaara is left helpless as he has no skills to speak off, apart from unleashing the demonic raccoon on the world (yeah, I know, harsh but true, I like Gaara as he's an awesome character, but Naruto given his set of skills is quite capable of countering absolutely everything that Gaara can throw at him, and he specializes in fast and deadly techniques)

There is one other thing I want to point out. In this fic Orochimaru won't be evil. Well, not exactly, but I'm explaining what I meant by it. He simply doesn't comprehend the value of human life in the same way as others do. I'm also avoiding the subject of experiments, as I seriously don't see a point to them apart from displaying him as a sick twisted monstrosity. For a person who has more ways than one to fully reverse all damage from his own experiments, it actually serves a better purpose to use his own body for experiments rather than kidnap subjects.(I'm also giving a different reason for his banishment...aka research of immortality, the only thing he would need bodies for, but on prisoners who went missing). Oh, no worries, he's still an antagonist, he still kills, taunts, threatens and maims, just for slightly different reasons, as a desire for knowledge can go many ways... and we all know that there is a very thin line between genius and insanity

Also, keep in mind that all of the events are happening roughly at the same time, a few minutes up or down. This battle lasts thirty minutes to an hour at best.

Oh, and honestly, when an enemy begins to pull a nasty technique (like Impure World Resurrection or anything else that takes over ten seconds to start making effects, no one in their right mind would stand and wait for the enemy to finish it up, as it (in this case) takes on the upper part of five seconds for the coffins to rise. Two ninja would easily destroy it in two seconds tops. ) don't expect the others to sit around and watch as it happens like in the anime.

Also, I would like to apologize for not posting a chapter sooner, but I only had about an hour every night to write this stuff, and the first draft of chapter 12 was simply... lacking, for the lack of a better word.

Now, without further ado, I leave you to the new chapter

* * *

_Chapter 12 : The Invasion : Checkmate_

"_To all on the frequency, clearance code S-5427, engage according to operation parameters_" the voice clearly commanded through the near invisible headpiece on many ears. Within moments, the battle for Konoha had started.

In his base on the roof of the Hokage tower, commander Wolf, a veteran of both the Second and the Third Shinobi War, was putting the plan into action. Apart from him, his advisers, Shikaku Nara and Hiashi Hyuuga, along with over two dozen aides were going through the constantly incoming information delivered mostly by runners. The impromptu command post was covered by a ramshackle construction that mostly kept the wind and snow away, carefully watched and guarded by a dedicated group of ANBU veterans.

"Commander, we just received a report from the south" Hiashi stated, eyes never leaving the paper he had just taken from one of the runners

"Yes?" Wolf asked in an flat tone

"Groups 5 and 6 have engaged the enemy. Ten casualties on our side, and over a hundred on theirs. The unit under command of Asuma Sarutobi has taken out the officers in command of their southern group and are currently cleaning up"

"Good. Shikaku, what's the status of our assassination squads?"

"Two and fifteen are too badly wounded to continue, we have six squads closing in on Asuma's position, preparing to intercept enemy reinforcements" Shikaku added.

"Sir, next communication window in 5...4...3...2...1...clear!"

The comm station instantly came to life as a multitude of voices began giving out their reports to the overworked aides.

"_Command post, this is group 2 under Hatake reporting in. The stadium is getting overrun. Squads 1 through 6 are holding them off, and the 'Barrier Breakers' have disabled two of the Sound Four, while the other two, Kidomaru Kogetsu and Tayuya, last name unknown have broken off and joined enemy forces, presumably at north and east. The Hokage is currently engaging Orochimaru, while squad one is engaging the jinchuriki, all others are holding off the incoming enemy reinforcements. Requesting backup and a medical team as soon as possible. Over and out_"

"Hatake, this is commander Wolf. Reinforcements are already on the way, ETA two minutes."

Wolf mostly kept quiet and listened to the other reports, until a very specific one that came over a reserved, private frequency stirred him.

"_Commander Wolf, Code Zero here. Div-6 is ready to deploy"_

A Machiavellian grin covered Wolf's face under his mask. Most outsiders saw the ANBU as once cohesive, singular force, however in reality, the entire ANBU was divided into groups specializing in certain areas, such as interrogation, espionage, assassination. Then there's Division Six, or Div-6 as they're also called, the cream of the crop. Officially, each of the five members of Div-6 are dead and their identities hidden behind their masks, while all of their official records are burned, so no one apart from the Hokage and the supreme commander of ANBU even know of their existence or skills.

"Clearance granted. The five assigned targets still stand. Orders are search and destroy" Wolf whispered. While he trusted the men under him, rules were rules.

"_Understood commander. Over and out" _the cold voice of Code Zero replied.

'_Opening complete. Let's see your next move Orochimaru..._' Wolf mused.

* * *

Naruto calmed himself as he gave the orders. He had already memorized the scroll that he had received a few days prior to the finals, along with the list of people who were going to be his subordinates.

_(Flashback)_

_**Chunin Uzumaki Naruto**_

_**Commanding officer :** Kakashi Hatake_

_**Subordinates :** Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame_

_**Phase one**_

_Primary objectives are as follows:_

_Disable the Ichibi Jinchuriki Gaara Subaku_

_Provide support to the other teams within the area_

_Provide support to the Hokage_

_Secondary objective is to attempt an capture as many enemies alive as possible_

_**Phase two**_

_Join up with your commanding officer. All further orders will be assigned directly by him._

_**Additional operation parameters:**_

_At zero-hour, a full scale communication blackout will be instated as the jammers disable enemy communication, however it will be lifted every ten minutes for one minute to forward orders and situation reports. At all other times, use summons or runners to carry information._

_During phase one, you are given complete authority over the Mist team consisting of Nakai Kitsugen, Makai and Shin Tasai_

_All orders can only be changed or challenged by your commanding officer or commander Wolf of ANBU, using the appropriate clearance codes_

_**Clearance codes **_

_**S-5427** – Initiation of combat operations_

_**A-1259** – Initiation of Phase two of combat operations_

_**D-2421 **– Alteration of orders by commander Wolf_

_(End flashback)_

"Sakura, you're on support, help out anyone who needs it. Shin and Sasuke, Shino and Nakai, Kiba and Merai, your three groups are my cover, take out any approaching Suna or Oto shinobi. Move!" he quickly ordered as he prepared himself to execute his own move

Shin wasn't a person who gladly followed orders, unless it was a person he respected. Naruto Uzumaki, even though he didn't know him, earned his respect for his skill and sheer gut. He and Sasuke were teamed up, and he had to admit, they worked quite well together. While the Uchiha relied on his family blade to effortlessly slash through his enemies, he turned to his taijutsu, all the while channeling lightning chakra into his body, stunning and/or killing anyone he hit.

"You're falling behind Uchiha" Shin said in a taunting tone, but without any malice as he crushed the windpipe of an enemy. He wasn't without wound either, although like many of the leaf shinobi, his were only superficial, mere scratches compared to the corpses he left behind

"As far as my eyes can see, you're the one with five less kills" Sasuke retorted before asking"Notice anything strange?"

"Yeah. Genin, chunin at best" he offhandedly commented the strength of his opponents.

"So where are the heavy hitters?" Sasuke wondered as he stabbed an Sound nin through the heart, all the while dodging a pair of kunai aimed for the back of his head. "Fifteen" he shouted.

"Damn!"

* * *

On one side of them, Kiba, Akamaru and Merai were fighting their own battle against four sound ninja. Much to Naruto's original surprise, none of his subordinates raised any issue to his orders, nor did they have problems working with foreign ninja.

"I suppose I will no longer be needing this" Merai idly commented, her arms hidden beneath her robe.

"What the hell are you talking about woman? We're in the middle of a fight here!" Kiba angrily commented as he dodged another blow from two of his enemies. A short slashing sound was heard as the robe Merai wore was cut to pieces and her straw hat was thrown off. Beneath the long robes was a deadly young woman, dressed in simple black pants and a red jacket, long black hair formed into a long braid falling down her back, armed with a pair of silvery-white sai in her hands.

"Unless you want to die dog-boy" she said in a flat voice "Better hope you can fight well..."

The unfortunate trio of sound ninja didn't get the chance to continue listening to their argument, as two were killed by twin whirlwinds of claws and the third got a pair of sai shoved through his neck.

A smirk crossed Merai's normally calm face.

"Not bad dog-boy... up for a little competition?" she asked, parrying another blow and landing the riposte to her enemies heart, slipping it right through his ribs. Kiba stabbed his clawed hand into the guts of a newcomer and ninja and threw him at another enemy.

"Anytime" he replied as Akamaru ripped out the throat of yet another foe. While Kiba hadn't added any new jutsu to his repertoire, he had worked hard on his taijutsu, his stamina and his speed. A month of being run into the ground did wonders for all three, much for the dismay of his enemies. And evasion practice as Kurenai-sensei so lovingly called it, had him dodging a _lot_ of kunai while walking on water or climbing trees. Suffice to say, he had very little problem facing the enemies.

* * *

On the other side Shino and Nakai were holding off a total of ten enemies.

"How many more do you see" Nakai asked, parrying a kunai blow with one of his twin swords.

"About twenty" Shino calmly asked as his beetles started swarming towards his enemies, while he dodged the blows of two ninja.

"Oh joy." Nakai charged towards the nearest, deftly evading the strike sent towards his head, and slashing at the man's chest while kicking him in the family jewels. Right behind him, Shino jumped on the shoulders of the falling victim, quickly throwing a storm of shuriken which Nakai used to move in closer to the others. He loudly cursed as a kunai was stabbed into his forearm, but that didn't stop him as he decapitated the man with both swords. As the remaining five moved to attack him, they felt the chakra draining insects finish their job, and fell to the ground. Shino's white coat was marred with dirt and blood, two shuriken still stabbed into his left arm causing mostly flesh wounds.

"Sakura!" he shouted, but the pink haired medic was already there, moving in to remove the shuriken and heal up the wounds. Another detachment moved in to kill them, a pair of sound ninja attacking the two directly. They almost reached them when a pair of elongated kunai covered with a brilliant blue light stabbed themselves into their hearts. Sakura easily pulled her two kunai out, returning them to their respective seals on her gloves.

"I hate it when people interrupt me" Sakura angrily commented as she returned to healing Shino and Nakai's wounds_._

Naruto stood calmly, an impassive face against his opponent. Both Jiraya and Kakashi drilled the fact that a ninja must remain calm and collected at all times into his head. However, such a feat was nowhere near as easy when one notes that he has two rather than one opponent of great power. Had he known more about the pale boy behind him, he would have been worried, for the second person to join this fight was Kimimaro Kaguya, Orochimaru's strongest warrior and last wielder of the Dead Bone Pulse, a bloodline that allowed it's carriers to shape and grow their bones at will

"Oh goodie... I'm surrounded, whatever shall I do?" Naruto sarcastically commented to no one in particular as he drew out his sword.

'_Kyuubi, any ideas on these two? Or should I just wing it?_'

'_**Why do you keep asking me kid? I taught you more than well..**_'

_'Just striking up a conversation... no need to get all bent out of shape'_

_'**Very funny. Now get. I've got popcorn to eat**'_

_'Popcorn...?'_

"Uzumaki-san, I would suggest you surrender" the pale boy said in a calm, polite tone.

"I'm afraid that's not an option. You see, Gaara over there wants to kill me" Naruto replied in an equal voice, causing him to quirk a near-nonexistent eyebrow "Besides, you have the advantage over me...?"

"Kimimaro" the other teen replied, before his field picked up a barrage of senbon from one side, a wave of sand coming from the man/demonic raccoon amalgam on the other and a number of finger bones coming from a _third.'Wait, bones? How the hell does he do that... must be a bloodline of some sort.'_

Naruto quickly parried the senbon with the sword, while leaping over the wave of sand, letting it block the finger bullets. He wasn't even getting winded. A wave and a couple o' dozen projectiles? A joke to his reflexes and planning. He stopped for a split-second to take in the appearance of his two opponents, and realized that there were multiple squads engaging the rest of his team and that they were currently cut off from the rest of the troops. He would have been worried, but he also felt a large number of allied troops converging on the location. Till they got there, he'd have to keep his team alive, and that meant finishing up this fight as soon as possible. His musings were interrupted by continuous waves of projectiles which he kept blocking and evading, managing to send some of them into the enemies to help his team a bit. He heard a distinct whisper of 'Dance of the Willow', and was mildly surprised to see Kimimaro charging towards him with bone spikes extended from his palms, elbows, knees and shoulders. Inwardly cursing, he dodged the first attack by rolling to the side, only to see that Gaara had no intention of cooperating with Kimimaro as the sand took over even more of his body, now fully covering him apart from a small patch on the left side of his head. He had wasted too much time and now Shukaku was almost awake. Dodging the blow of two massive demonic arms, he stood up.

"I see. So much for messing around... and I was sooo looking forward to an easy fight" he commented with a mild dose of sarcasm, all the while inwardly cursing. He would have to show his cards earlier than he planned '_Well, this is war..._'. He silently patted himself on the back for forcing himself to read the entire scroll that master Kaise Tarak made. To think that the last seal turned out to be a containment one, and the scroll _vividly described the_ true form of said sword. And the process of freeing it was ever so simple. Biting his right thumb, he smeared a bit of his blood on the surface where one of the three hidden arrays began glowing.

"Awaken, Quicksilver. Your blade is once more needed" he solemnly called. Suddenly, the surface of the sword rippled and within moments,the blade began _flowing_ into a new shape, as the chakra-infused liquid metal moved. The shape didn't change much, except for the top of the sword. The small curve extended itself into a full crescent as another formed on the other side and a second edge joined the first, forming a powerful dual edged sword. The sword once more solidified itself as four holes the size of the previous one formed themselves and the seal arrays that once adorned the surface extended around them, a cold blue light softly emanating and a single green crystal emerged from both sides of the crescent on top. Within two seconds, the tides of war shifted once more.

"Now, where were we?" Naruto asked in a serious voice, as a scowl decorated the faces of his opponents.

* * *

The man designated as Code Zero smirked as he moved through the snowfall, never leaving behind as much as a trace of his existence apart from a trail of corpses killed by a standard issued kunai. Out of the five, he was the assassination specialist. While somewhat proud of his skills, he knew better than to let his pride cloud his judgment. Code Two repeated that more than a few times as she slammed that accursed book of hers into his head more than once. Or was that because he had stolen her supply of sweets? It didn't matter much at this point, all that mattered was getting the job done, and that involved taking leadership of one of the assassination squads. Not that he minded. Spotting a small field base, he sneaked up as close as he could without attracting attention. Drawing out a set of linked explosive tags, he skillfully hid them, making sure than no one would know about them before it was too late, and moved away. Seconds later, a loud explosion rocked the southern sector of Konoha.

Asuma tiredly grunted as both he and his team finally completed the arduous task of escorting the last of the civilians out of the village and into the safety of the shelters under the Hokage Monument. Now, all he had to contend with were a hundred enemy ninja.

"Sensei, just how did we get fooled into taking this troublesome job?" Shikamaru asked in an irritated voice, while his teammate Ino grunted in agreement.

"Don't ask Shikamaru" Asuma tiredly commented as he spotted a figure he recognized from the reports "Things just got a helluva lot worse" he quietly added as he recognized the face of Kidomaru Kogetsu. He probably would have commented more, but he was forced to dodge a large earthen projectile aimed at him.

"Chouji, you and Ino go for the others. Shikamaru, you're with me. Meiko, Fasaka and Shoda, go along with Chouji and Ino!" Asuma quickly ordered as the team split up, leaving Asuma and Shikamaru to face the leader of the enemy group. While additional help would have been useful, people he didn't know how to work well with would have been more of a hindrance than an aid. The four-armed Kidomaru was studying them curiously even as he was making a spear out of the chakra infused webbing he secreted. There was something disturbing about the way he studied them, like a predator studying it's prey. He stopped his 'study' only to throw the spear at them. Asuma shifted his head a bit to avoid the projectile.

"Subtle, are we?" Asuma commented, while taking a drag from his cigar. Both he and Shikamaru were also studying him "Any suggestions Shika?" he quietly asked the resident tactical genius.

"We call for reinforcements? The files were vague, and this guy is easily a jounin if not more."

"Not an option I'm afraid."

"Fine" he stopped for a moment, putting together everything he knew of Kidomaru. "Strike him from the left, and keep him busy for a few seconds. I have a new jutsu to try" he quickly explained.

* * *

Of all the people to take part in the defense, very few would actually say that they enjoyed their job. One of the said few was Anko, currently in command of a full assassination squad, who didn't have any work on this scale since the last war. She was near giddy with excitement as the group broke up to take down one of the small command and communication posts, aiming to take out their chain of command and to leave the rank and file without any orders from above. The job was challenging to say the least. No intel on the victim(s), no intel on the target area. Basically seek and destroy without getting caught or dying. Using her own portable equipment, she tracked down one of the small relay stations the invaders were using to broadcast orders.

Masking her chakra, she carefully sneaked up on a small alley where a group of three were huddled around a portable comm station while another two guarded them. Noticing the other members of her group on the surrounding buildings, she silently gave her orders through a series of hand signs. Th others complied and moved into position as they prepared their respective moves. Anko grinned wildly at the thought of explosives she packed. Drawing out a pair of the improved tags that Naruto had prepared for her, and picking up a kunai and wrapping both around the handle. Waiting for the right moment she raised her hand to give the signal as her left one held the kunai ready to throw. When the two guards faced each other, she quickly dropped her right one as the kunai took flight straight into the comm unit, quickly followed by a wave of projectiles from multiple directions, along with several cries of 'Fire Release : Grand Fireball'. The team of five was caught completely off guard and instantly obliterated.

"Wolf, this is AS 1. Southern comm center is out. Over and out" she quickly spoke, using the last moments of the clearing before the blackout was reinstated.

* * *

_'Each and every move must flow along with the blade. Let the sword's flow guide your own' _Naruto inwardly repeated the mantra to himself as he began his attack. Naruto was no longer holding back even a bit, mixing every single skill he knew into the complete and utterly deadly Dance of Ruin as he called it. Eight clones and him, the number being a tribute to one of his teachers, continuously applied pressure on the two nins, leaving no room for counterattacks as the exploding seals appeared every second or so, leaving their legs wounded. Kimimaro frowned, as his opponent was far more powerful than he was led to believe. While the nine copies of Naruto were stopping both of them, neither could even mount a defense, forced to dodge each attack. Kimimaro was hit harder though, as the sword easily flowed through his every defense. Naruto watched with interest as the curse seal on his chest flared up and started transforming Kimimaro.

However, Naruto wasn't going to just sit around. In reaction, the real Naruto replied with his own transformation

"**Radiance : Compression" **he spoke in a quiet voice as the shell of chakra quickly compressed around him, and a bright blue light began emanating as the chakra condensed. The shell grew ever smaller until it completely surrounded Naruto, drastically changing his appearance. His entire body was surrounded by a shell of blue chakra easily mimicking his limbs and clothes while nine ghostly blue tails whipped around wildly. Naruto's eyes changed as well, as the cerulean blue of his iris expanded over the entire eye, leaving a perfectly electric blue eye

"_Forgive me for what I am about to do_" Naruto spoke in a cold voice. "_**Dance**_ _**of Ruin**_" he whispered as one by one the clones rapidly vanished from sight

Kimimaro was shocked by the event. At one moment, he was holding off five of the Naruto clones, while the remaining four were engaging Gaara. Now, all of those nine stood in a circle around him with their blades held above him, while one locked his eyes with his. It was no longer the look of a rookie ninja, no, the deep swirling, completely blue eyes were now cold and menacing, promising pain beyond belief to all those who stood against them. He felt helpless, like a body in the ocean during a vicious storm. He was at his mercy.

"_**Judgment**_" the emotionless voice spoke once more as the nine blades glowed a blinding blue before they slammed at him. He never had the time to react as the world faded to black, failing to hear a single whispered word that came to his ears.

Many turned in shock to the event that had taken place as Naruto near effortlessly executed one Kimimaro Kaguya. Needless to say, the morale of the remaining Sound shinobi plummeted at seeing their strongest shinobi so easily defeated, while he himself had changed into something that _truly _provoked fear. What Naruto didn't notice was the look of awe on the faces of his allies. From their hidden position, the members of Div-6 whistled at the kid, while Sarutobi smirked at his opponent

* * *

For the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, Neji Hyuuga cursed. If he didn't know better, he would have stared thinking that he was developing a.... _language._ Regardless of his linguistic problems, he now had bigger fish to fry. Namely Tayuya of the Sound Four. To his advantage, she was using genjutsu. To his disadvantage, the genjutsu were based on sound, so his byakugan was useless against them. And the three disfigured giants weren't helping. Thankfully his younger cousin Hinata proved more than efficient, as he and she double-teamed the red headed girl, both managing to weave through the defense of her two giants, and keeping her busy until the imposing figure of Maito Gai appeared near them right along with his near exact clone, Rock Lee along with Tenten Higurashi. Watching the now strangely transformed girl in front of him, Neji decided on a course of action that he feared he would regret until the end of his life... some fates were truly unmerciful.

"Gai-sensei! Neji shouted, stopping the battle for a moment. Swallowing the growing bile in his throat at what he was about to say, he used all of his considerable willpower to force himself to continue and pointed his figure at Tayuya "This young lady has been acting and speaking most _unyouthfully_."

A look of slowly dawning horror covered both Tenten and Hinata's face, along with the faces of several other chunin ninja who were present, albeit at a distance. The only one who wasn't aware what was happening was Tayuya, but to her regret, that was about to change. For some reason, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something truly _horrifying _was about to happen

* * *

Orochimaru sighed tiredly. Contrary to the opinion of many, Orochimaru wasn't nearly as evil and twisted as those who stood against him believed. He was harsh and ruthless at times, when consumed by his desire and hunger for even more knowledge, which was his only true weakness. He had a goal in life, to gather as much knowledge as humanly (or inhumanly in his case) possible, even going as far as to learn a way to extend his life by using the bodies of his enemies, the scary bit being that he wasn't truly afraid of dying...rather, he was afraid of failing. While not physically strong like Jiraya and Tsunade, Orochimaru knew an impressive arsenal of jutsu of all types and elements, along with a knowledge of seals that almost matched the Yondaime. However, even his keen analytical mind couldn't find a good exit out of the situation he found himself in. For the first time in years, he was outsmarted. 'S_o, Jiraya figured out that I would attack... and the loss of all of my agents in and around Konoha left me blind to their plans. Clever sensei, very clever_'

Orochimaru's pale face scowled once more as his plan went even further off. Until now, he had to contend with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake, while his bodyguards sealed off the area with a barrier. Now, a team of ANBU using strange rods was destroying the barriers and Sakon, Ukon and Jirobo had already fallen to the chakra loss caused by the rods '_Did Jiraya make these? No, he wouldn't have used a physical medium. Sensei doesn't work with seals that much, so that means that Konoha has another seal master, and I'd bet anything it's Uzumaki. Just how much of a bother can a single person be? _'

The reality of the situation he found himself in had finally caught up. He was likely going to die, as he had miscalculated. He had expected on the element of surprise to give him the much needed advantage, along with the summoning arrays to produce a number of massive snakes and the Ichibi jinchuriki to wreak havoc. By what he was seeing, nearly half of his thousand strong army was now dead or disabled, and most of the officers were either dead or captured. Even if he defeated the Hokage, he knew Hiruzen wasn't called the Professor and God of the Shinobi for nothing. The old man probably had plans already laid in place should he die here. In other words, he was outmaneuvered and outsmarted. The invasion was a failure, and now was the time to cut his losses and get away while he still could... provided he figured out a way out. The two squads of reinforcements were nearby, all of his sound four were either captured or missing, presumably leading the troops and Kimimaro was engaging Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara, who seemed to enjoy the idea of shedding even more blood. He had lost all of his troops, that much was certain. It was time to make a hasty retreat.

"It appears you're not as old as you portray yourself to be Sarutobi-sensei" he spoke in a cold voice as a scowl marred his features

"I'm still young enough to outsmart you Orochimaru" the older man replied in a somewhat sad voice. After some fifteen minutes of fighting they were at an impasse. Orochimaru's failure to execute the Impure World Resurrection jutsu, the one thing that would have given him a visible edge over the old man and Kakashi. However, it wasn't meant to be, as the three coffins were utterly obliterated before they even got a chance to rise from the ground. He jumped a bit back and quickly summoned a pair of mud clones, the soil on the roof the result of a number of earth jutsu being thrown around

"Then I suppose that I'll have to end our encounter today." Orochimaru nearly whispered as he used a seal-less shunshin to get away before submerging himself under the earth. Sarutobi sighed tiredly at the fact that his former pupil escaped as the two clones slowed down Kakashi. There was very little he could do to track Orochimaru down now. He was too good a tracker to fall for the same tricks. He had failed to stop his former student. Again.

* * *

Outside of the battles, a trio of ninja watched the arena while they watched over their prisoners. Temari and Kankuro Subaku, along with their jounin-sensei Baki were captured by Div-6 members Two, Three and Four, knocked out before they even had a chance to fight, and planned to be kept as hostages should the need arise later on.

A strange silence descended on the stadium as one by one, the surviving shinobi dropped their weapons in surrender. However, one battle was still raging. Naruto and Gaara were starring each other down as both prepared to attack. Naruto smirked beneath the shell, he already had a plan in mind how to defeat the now almost fully possessed jinchuriki. He had grown a bit more, now easily towering over the blond.

_'Thirty seconds'_

In a single moment, Naruto vanished. No words spoken, no taunts or threats given. There was no smoke or leaves. He simply ceased to exist in one moment. Gaara growled, but immediately began turning as he sensed a presence behind him only for the oversized sword to slam into his tail, easily chopping it off. Gaara slammed one of his massive arms into Naruto, only for him to vanish with a cloud of smoke.'_twenty-five'_ Instantly, another popped out, slashing at his other hand, easily breaking off a large amount of sand before he had a chance to regenerate. The process was quickly repeated with the left arm, easily leaving him crippled as a last cop of Naruto appear right in front of him

"**Radiance : Overflow" **the figure muttered as the shell and tails around him once more turned into a sphere and surrounded both, the bright blue light still glowing.

_'Twenty'_

"**Radiance : Storm Sphere**"

Inside, Gaara would have cursed, had he the mental presence to do so as the blue sphere turned transparent white, and fierce winds shredded his entire sand cover, ending the direct influence of Shukaku on him.

_'Ten'_

Gaara watched in horror as his power was stripped from him by what seemed the avatar of an angry good, for the first time in his life frozen in fear, right along with Shukaku. Naruto smirked as he quickly went to the fifty seven seals before his right hand glowed brightly, even against the backdrop of his own chakra, while five symbols appeared on the tips of his fingers. '_One_'

"**Five** **Element** **Seal!"** Naruto shouted as he slammed the fingers into a stunned Gaara's gut, before everything faded to black

* * *

Asuma glared at the webs that had covered the most of the street in which they fought. He was left with very little room to move. A few quick slices of his trench knives cleared up a bit more space as he hurried towards his own student... who was to his surprise keeping up with Kidomaru. Shikamaru, the laziest ninja (apart from his father) in Konohagakure, was actually keeping up with him, and not only that, from what he had seen, he was maneuvering his opponent into a trap

_'Just a little bit more, and the 'fly' will catch the spider' Shikamaru mused_ _'Gods, I'm starting to speak nonsense.' he inwardly chuckled as he_ finally completed his trap. Using the long strands of spider silk to project his shadow over to Kidomaru, he had him trapped inside a small shadowed area as he began to go through the seals for one of the jutsus he found in the old clan scrolls, disused since the last great war.

"**Ninja** **Art:** **Shadow** **Tendrils" **Shikamaru called out as three tentacles made of a shadowy substance rose from the ground "Impale!" he shouted and they stabbed through the enemy, instantly going through his heart, liver and neck. Kidomaru was killed instantly, never even given a chance to retaliate. Shikamaru dropped to his knees in exhaustion.

"That was...." he started, only to have his mouth covered by a delicate feminine hand

"Don't you dare finish that sentence" Ino commanded from behind him, as he heard Asuma and Chouji tiredly chuckle from behind him.

"Come one kids, as soon as things clear up, barbeque is on me"Asuma added with a tired smile, nearly laughing at the wide grin that adorned Chouji's face.

* * *

Blink. And once more, blink. Naruto was shocked to say the least as he observed his surroundings... not that there was much to observe, considering that he was stuck in a realm of complete darkness. He was certain that _this _wasn't an intended effect of the **Five Elements Seal** that he used... meaning that he botched the jutsu

"Damn, and just when I thought I had it down. But just where am I?" he muttered. As he stood, he finally noticed a speck of light, and a figure walking towards him. It was a small boy, whom he recognized as a younger Gaara, carrying a worn out teddy bear. He was crying. Naruto kept watching, as behind him his memories started unfolding.

First was a faint memory of the pain of the sealing, something he couldn't consciously remember for some reason. Then came the fear from the others. Unlike Naruto, Gaara wasn't beaten, his sand defense took care of anyone who dared come to close with ill intent, but at the same time it kept people away from him. He watched in slowly growing horror as experiences from his entire life came up one after the other, many mimicking his own, the hate, fear and loathing directed at him, the whispers, the glares. _Everything_ He saw the betrayal of the one person Gaara had explicitly trusted, his uncle who under the orders of the Kazekage went to kill the boy, and with it the final snap which turned the said, hurt boy into a monster fueled by Shukaku's power.

Naruto felt his own pain at the memories, which were scarily similar to his own. Was this truly the fate of the jinchuriki? To be feared and reviled by all until the crushing loneliness turned them into cold, emotionless individuals or psychotics?

"W-Who are you?" the little boy asked him "D-did y-you come here to hurt me?" he asked again with a dejected look. Naruto recognized those eyes, having seen them in the mirror for years. Monster? What gives others the right to judge him when they spent their time making him one. Naruto was rational by nature, sure he loved to goof of, and he at times didn't think things through, but there are parts of his nature which are purely emotional. Such as for instance the instinct to protect those who've been harmed in their life badly. He wasn't proud of it, but he was a sucker for a sob story. Calming himself down, he put on one of his kindest smiles.

"I'm not" he replied, crouching in front of the smaller boy, and ruffling his red hair "I'm like you, you know?" he added sagely, and the boy stopped whimpering and looked him in the face

"L..like me?" he asked, voice filled with disbelief "W...would y..you..." he started before trailing off, uncertain. Naruto thought for a moment, considering what the boy was trying to ask before he remembered what he himself would have asked.

"Would you be my friend?" he asked the little red-haired boy, who now stared at him. The eyes of the boy were filled with surprise and hope, all mixed with a hint of fear. Fear of betrayal. He hugged the boy warmly, kindly, intent on banishing all such fears from the boy's heart, hoping for a moment to rekindle his spirit and faith in humanity, and then everything once more turned black.

Naruto opened his eyes, finding himself in a small oasis, sitting next to a large sandstone cage containing a giant sand raccoon inside, right next to it was Gaara his back facing him, just as he remembered him, staring at the beastly entity, which was by the way, curled up and sleeping... not to mention snoring lightly.

"So you came here as well Uzumaki" he said in a flat tone. Naruto only sighed.

"You are a strange one" he added. Naruto began noticing that although his voice was flat, it still held some amount of emotion in it. Right now, he was content, his mind resting after years of not being able to sleep normally for fear of the giant raccoon. "Tell me, why are you so strong? Why do you fight so hard for those who harmed you in the past?" he asked, this time letting a sliver of curiosity slip past.

Naruto looked him straight in the eyes studying him long and hard before answering.

"I fight... to protect those precious to me." he stopped for a moment "Tell me, you said more than once that you fight to prove your existence... why do you need to kill to do so?"

Gaara looked at him, seemingly thoughtful, as a small snore interrupted them for a moment.

"You know, if he wasn't a juggernaut of destruction bent on killing everything that moves, that would be funny" Naruto deadpanned

"I think it still is" Gaara retorted in a completely serious voice. Naruto once more, blinked in confusion.

"I kill those who are strong to prove myself, to prove my existence. The greater the enemy, the better. I believed that... but now I'm not so sure anymore. You say you fight to protect, and you are far stronger than me. Even he was scared of you"

"Wait a sec. If you know about him, than who's 'Mother'?" Naruto asked, still slightly confused. Gaara's head dropped, and for the first time Naruto actually saw emotion on the boy's face, and it was a deep sadness

"When they sealed Shukaku into me, my mother's soul was ripped out of her body... and sealed along with _it. _Their souls are bound to each other, and while the part that is my mother cares for both me and my siblings, Shukaku is completely insane. " Gaara explained, talking more in a few minutes than he did in years. He didn't know why yet, but he felt he could bare his soul before the blond boy. For whatever reason, he felt safe.

"Kami... what kind of a monster does that to an unborn child?" Naruto quietly muttered

"My father" Gaara retorted quietly. Naruto paled before blood rushed into his face and it took every bit of self control not to get mad at that moment. "You still haven't told me though. Why do you protect them?"

"Because they made my life worth living. Because every time I look at them, they bring a smile to my face, and warmth to my heart. Because with them, the hole in my heart made by years of loneliness seems smaller, and doesn't hurt so much. For as long as they are safe an happy, I can die peacefully, without any regrets." Naruto explained as a few tears went down his cheek, while images of his most precious people flashed through his head. The old man Sarutobi, Iruka-sensei, Ayame and Teuchi, Kakashi, Jiraya, even Sasuke and Sakura, Haku... and finally Anko. He still didn't understand, but the very thought of her brought a smile to his lips, the thought of her smile, the real one she kept hidden for years, and that he had finally had a chance to see warmed his heart. He didn't notice it, but while he was talking, his right hand was rubbing the ring she had given him gently.

All the while, Gaara, who saw the images himself, and with them a part of his memory slowly began to understand what Naruto meant. It was still a foreign concept to him, to take care for another. Years of pain built a shell around his heart that was only now beginning to crack, even if only a bit. But the things he saw forced him to look over his own life as well. He sat silently as he mulled over his own memories, remembering all the times that his older siblings tried to be there for him, all the times his sensei Baki, for all his failings, tried to help him, only for him to send them all away with threats of death. He vividly remembered the sadness in Temari's eyes and the shame in Kankuro's. Not shame for having him as a brother, as he originally thought, but shame for not being able to help both him and his mother.

"Perhaps..." he whispered "you are right. Perhaps yours is the better way"

"You know, my offer still stands" Naruto voiced his thoughts as he extended a hand to the boy. Gaara watched the hand, hesitating for a few moments, before finally grasping it

"Thank you." the world started fading "my friend"

Naruto blinked once more as a snowflake fell on his nose. It was a somewhat pleasant sensation, but he sadly enough didn't have the time for such pleasantries. Looking around, he realized that mere moments passed while he conversed with Gaara. And that's when the chakra shell around him finally crumbled and he fell to the ground

'_Zero_' he irritatedly counted as his own consciousness faded, while he made one final smile towards his new friend.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So, the chapter is finally here. A bit of explanation on the new abilities.

**Radiance : Compression**

Based on the original Radiance sphere, which created a large, yet very thin shell of chakra around the body of the user (strong enough to hold back the constantly emanating waves of weak chakra, yet weak enough not to stop any other attempt at movement through it). Radiance : Compression, as the name says, takes all of the chakra that the body keeps outside as an effective second reserve, and by reducing the shell while strengthening it at the same time, forces the chakra to condense, between it and a second shell that tightly hugs the skin, assuming a raw physical form which is then manipulated as it's user wishes, allowing for a plethora of new moves and abilities. Unless differently noted, the shape that Compression assumes is that of a Human with nine tails(which are fully solid thanks to the solid shell around them), along with several other prominent marks, such as ears. (it was mostly inspired by Naruto's jinchuriki forms also having the agility, reflex and speed advantages. All senses are sharpened to inhuman levels by the amount of chakra).

The direct benefits are as follows: access to massive amounts of chakra around him, physical shielding from both normal and jutsu attacks. Normal jutsu can still be used, but in this shape, Naruto gains access to some far more powerful attacks, along with drastically increased melee capacity (Come on, nine additional _deadly and fully solid_ limbs which are all easily controlled. Did I mention that they can stab through people?)

The weaknesses, however are there as well. Naruto loses the enhanced senses granted by Radiance, and the drain on his chakra is significant, leaving him weakened when it is over. And if all of the chakra that is gathered is expended, it takes well over a week to fully restore the field of Radiance he normally uses. Also, since Naruto has a lot of chakra, but nowhere near as much as the Kyuubi, this move is still in it's infant stages, good for about five minutes at this point.

**Kubikiri Houcho Final Form : Quicksilver**

The true form of the Kubikiri Houcho is a sword made of liquid metal. As soon as the containment seal is broken, the chakra sensitive liquid metal released itself from it's former solid state and reforged itself into it's true form. The sword retains it's length, but forms a second edge while removing the semi-circular hole on it's front side. The top of the sword changes as well, as the formerly small curve to the side extends into a full crescent over the top of the sword. Instead of the one hole on the surface, now four such holes adorn the blade. The small green crystal that is near the top is a chakra crystal, serving to amplify all chakra sent into the blade while at the same time allowing it's unusual properties to remain and to allow the repair of the sword just by plunging it into a large enough supply of metal. The crystal itself flows through the sword to avoid any direct strike at it, and even if it's hit, it's about as tough as a diamond. The sword is near unbreakable and can shift freely between liquid and solid at a moment's notice, allowing the sword to bypass any attempts at blocking it without a chakra enhanced blade. If the blade has a shell of chakra around it or a large amount of chakra flowing through it, Quicksilver retains it's form, refusing to become liquid to avoid it being destroyed. The sword is colder than ice at all times. It doesn't have any powers over it, but it causes mild frostbite to any wound it deals, while protecting it's chosen wielder from it's own effects. The effects are sufficient to freeze a warm body over several minutes of direct contact. Regardless of whether it is solid or liquid, said cold keeps anyone but it's owner from picking it up. The sword also retains a permanent chakra shell around it that is easily infused with any type of elemental chakra. Should said shell be broken, the sword becomes solid until it is reformed.

**Dance of Ruin : Judgment**

This is the First and weakest of the three execution moves that Naruto created for the Dance of Ruin style. The other two are incomplete and won't be shown for a while yet.

Judgment uses eight clones of Naruto along with the original to surround the victim. The large amount of chakra channeled, and combined with the effects of drawing heavily on Kyuubi's KI, channeling and focusing it it through the eyes of the original, while the nine shunshin into formation, to basically paralyze through fear, while all nine slash their swords down, cutting up the victim badly, and in most cases instantly killing him or her. Anything under Kage level will have difficulty even moving when faced with that, unless they had extensive experience with dealing with bijou level killing intent (likely, huh?)

Now that that's out of the way, here's a few more details. The group named Division 6 will be making appearances throughout the story later on. It always made sense to me that a place like Konoha would have a few aces up their sleeve. Div-6 is my version of said cards. The group of five, codenamed Code Zero through Four, are as mentioned officially dead, and only take S-rank missions.(PS, I will not be using DMC rankings of SS and SSS. S rank is the top of the line while E rank means the bottom).

Also, the next chapter, which will be coming out in a few days will mostly be dealing with the aftermath of the invasion, things such as promotions and other details, and will end with Naruto being sent on his first chunin mission.


	13. After the Battle

**Author's Ramblings: **Okay, this chapter took an irritating amount of time to write. I tried to avoid going deeply into depressive thoughts and self-doubts and other such nonsense, although a bit slipped past anyway. This is in reality the fourth draft of the chapter, and the first one I find passable, so I'm posting it. This is just the series of events that follow the invasion, a short break if you will, however by the end of the chapter a new mission will start

* * *

_Chapter 13 : After the Battle_

_(20:30, Konoha Hospital)_

'_White? Oh great, I'm stuck in the hospital... again_' were Naruto's first thoughts as he opened his eyes. Of course, being greeted by the sterile ceiling of the hospital was something he was sadly used to in his youth, however, it had been several months since his last visit. A soft snore echoed in the room, coming from right beside him. Now awake, he slowly turned his face to the right, and couldn't help but smile at the sight. Anko, his friend and lover was soundly asleep, her head resting on her hands, which were in turn resting on his bed, right next to him, while the small snowflake-shaped medallion he had given her was falling over her hands. Giving up on lifting his right arm as Anko was sleeping on it, he slowly raised his left one, only to wince at the pain that move produced. Chakra exhaustion was a bitch. Forcing his arm to move through sheer will, and with a little aid of chakra, he kindly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, only to smile when she unconsciously nuzzled into it. A wide smile broke on his face at her reaction. He spent the next few minutes in silence, only interrupted by the sounds of the machines he was hooked up to. Using the somewhat limited medical knowledge he possessed, he drew the small amount of chakra he could safely, going for a diagnostic jutsu. The second form of Radiance was a gamble, as he hadn't fully trained it yet, so he had to be sure of the damage it caused. Starting from his head, and going down, the only things he detected were drained chakra coils, and the occasional scratch, the remains of far deeper wounds thanks to his insane healing factor. A near quiet cough brought him from his own 'expert' diagnostic. Naruto raised his head to notice the bespectacled face of Kabuto Yakushi.

"So doc, what's the verdict?" he asked with a small grin. Kabuto politely smiled back, all the while looking through the notes he was carrying with him

"You seem to be in good health, well, apart from the chakra exhaustion. Mildly strained, but there is one more thing. Your body is exhausted, so your reaction times will be a bit down for a week" he dully noted. Naruto silently nodded

"When can I leave?" he asked, anxious to get the hell out of the hospital.

"Tomorrow morning. My father noted that you should stay until your chakra reserves are stable. Oh, and you've had quite a few visitors during the six hours you were out."

"Visitors? Wait who... hang on a sec, six hours? Only that much from chakra exhaustion?" Naruto asked with clear surprise in his voice. Even with his own ability to regenerate always took him at least twenty four hours to recover sufficiently to regain consciousness. The reserve seal, that would have prevented the exhaustion from occurring was already exhausted when he triggered the second change of his Radiance form. Kabuto stood silent in thought with a hand on his chin, contemplating a good enough answer

"Well, according to the reports after you pulled that stunt of yours, the chakra around you mostly receded back into your body. It probably gave you enough chakra back to quicken up your healing."

_'That makes sense' _the younger boy thought. While his knowledge on healing skills, along with certain aspects of human physiology was limited, he still knew a lot.

"Oh, and Hokage-sama will be visiting you in a few minutes. You might want to wake Mitarashi-san" he politely added before leaving

"Hey Kabuto..." Naruto quietly said, while the white-haired teen stopped, giving him his attention

"Thanks for patching me up"

Kabuto chuckled.

"You really are dense at times, you know that Naruto?" he asked with mirth. Naruto looked irritated, while Kabuto one more began walking towards the door.

"I've heard that it was you who cracked the seal on the back of my neck. I pay my debts ... besides what are friends for?" he added the last part with a wide smile. Naruto could only smile back at the words. For better or worse, he always did make friends easily.

It had taken him the better part of an hour, but his senses were finally back to their usual level. The sphere of Radiance which normally encompassed a hundred and fifty meters in all directions, now covered a measly five, but ti was still enough to sense the two hidden ANBU in the corners of the room watching over him '_That's Bear and... Hawk? Never saw him before. Wonder if he's one of 'those'..._'

If there was one thing Naruto knew, it was that in the world of the shinobi, there was no such thing as paranoia. There was always at least someone, more commonly, a lot of someones out for your blood. It went with the territory, and given Naruto's years of abuse, he rarely lowered his guard and hated being vulnerable. So, the high speed friend-or-foe checkup he did on the two was quite normal to him.... just as normal as it was to any veteran ninja. The second interruption came in the form of an opening door. Naruto already knew who was coming, so he turned with a small smile to greet his friends

"Hey teme, Sakura" he spoke in a rather happy voice.

"I see you're doing better dobe" Sasuke retorted, with an almost equal smile on his face. There was something refreshing about the no-longer stuck up Uchiha. However, the quizzical look both gave him at spotting the sleeping Anko right next to him slightly irritated him.

"Fine, I told you I'd explain everything. Pick up my coat over there, there should be a scroll in one of the inside pockets." Naruto quietly ordered, while using his free hand to nudge Anko awake. While Sasuke walked over to the nearby chair where most of his clothes were, Sakura was looking at him and Anko with something akin to... longing? It took him a few moments to realize why. For all the change, a part of her was still deeply infatuated with the Uchiha, and she wished for the same closeness the two of them shared. He gently nudged Anko once more, however she refused to wake up, so he decided on slightly drastic measures. Forcing his body to move, he turned over to her and kissed her on the lips. Much to his entertainment, it worked like a charm.

"Mmm... nice to see you're up love" Anko said in a sweet voice, much to the surprise of the others in the room, all the while hugging Naruto "Feeling better? And up for some...fun?"

"Just peachy" Naruto replied "However, we have guests right now" he added pointing to the two. Anko playfully pouted and kissed him on the cheek "Spoilsports. I'll leave you to your talks and come back later."

The three remained silent while Anko walked out. Sasuke threw the scroll over to Naruto, who easily caught it and unfurled it, revealing a large assortment of storage seals

"Let's see... weapons, supplies no... explosives, definitely no... ah, privacy seals!" he muttered as he moved over the seals on the scroll, finally stopping on a small array near the end. A drop of blood and a bit of chakra quickly unsealed a small tag. As soon as he deployed it, a thin barrier encompassed the room.

"Before we start, Hawk, Bear would you please give us some privacy? While I do trust the ANBU, there is some sensitive information I must speak off."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at him as if he were mad... until the genjutsu behind them dropped and the two ANBU vacated the room silently with a small 'poof'.

"First and foremost, I promised I'd tell you everything Sasuke, so here goes. Everything I tell you now is an S-rank secret, not to be revealed without my permission. If you tell anyone without permission, you _will_ be put to death, Sarutobi will see to that." Naruto spoke in a deathly serious voice, one that sent shivers up the spines of his friends. "Before I continue, can you do that?"

"Hai" Sasuke quickly replied. Sakura only nodded.

"Good. Let's start at the beginning. What do you know of the night that Kyuubi attacked, fourteen years ago?" he started.

"Only that the Kyuubi was defeated by the Yondaime hokage, at the cost of his life." Sakura quickly replied. Sasuke remained quiet. All the while, Naruto wasn't facing them... rather, he was looking at the falling snow and electric lights outside. With a short sigh, he continued.

"Just what they taught in the academy. Well, here's the problem: None of the tailed beasts can be killed. They are in essence immortal creatures made of pure chakra." Naruto started "So in order to defeat it, Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage sealed Kyuubi by the means of a kinjutsu and with the aid of the Shinigami." Naruto paused, while dropping his head a bit. In Sasuke's head, gears were already turning. He suddenly remembered a picture of the Fourth, and superimposed it on Naruto, removing the whiskers. _'Holy shit' _were his only thoughts after it. Sakura was however still blissfully ignorant of said fact, as she only began putting two and two together "However, a being of such power couldn't be sealed into an inanimate object, no it had to be a living human, or more accurately a newborn child. Minato, being the Hokage, couldn't ask anyone to sacrifice their child.... if he wasn't willing to sacrifice his own to bear the seal, and become the container." Naruto stopped once more, eying the already shocked looks on their faces "My full, _real name _is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi and son of Minato Namikaze, the 'Yellow Flash' and Kushina Uzumaki, the 'Crimson Wind', " he finished. It was Sasuke who decided to speak first, easily summing up the thoughts of both others present

"Well shit" he oh so eloquently commented.

"You..you..."Sakura tried to say, but failed miserably. Taking in a deep breath, she calmed herself down to continue "Come to think of it, you're a carbon copy of the late Yondaime... just remove the whiskers. How come no one ever figured it out?" she asked, more or less thinking out loud.

"Because they didn't want to Sakura" Sasuke coldly commented"All they saw was the fox, but not the man. Am I right?"

"Completely. It was only recently that things began changing. You don't seem to be overly worried about my...condition, Sakura?" he asked curiously. It wasn't that he couldn't handle the hatred, if it came. It was the fact that he once had a crush on the pink-haired genin, and he cared for her, both as a teammate and a friend. If anything, he would have been sad.

"You always were the number one most surprising ninja Naruto. At this point, if you told me you were the grandson of the Shinigami, I wouldn't be overly surprised..." she jokingly stated "For better or worse, you are _human, _that much I'm certain off. An idiot at times, but still human" she added with a smirk, which Sasuke happily shared.

"Ha, ha" Naruto mock-laughed, all the while pouting. He couldn't help it, even after the mess that was the battle, he needed it. The closeness that his friends offered. The comfort of a simple laugh and joke, the teasing and messing around. He realized that he hadn't talked to Konohamaru and Iruka in over a month, and had only visited the Ichiraku's two weeks ago. He would have to fix that up as soon as he was out. But for now, spending time with his friends would be enough. While on the outside he was pouting, on the inside, a wide smile made it's appearance, something that only a certain fox was able to see.

"Funny stuff aside, how did it all end up? And how are the others?" Naruto asked. He fainted after he beat Gaara and Kimimaro, so he really didn't know what happened next.

"Hn... by the time you fainted, most of the troops in the arena began surrendering en masse, apparently scared shitless from that display of power... by the way, was that the 'stuff' you didn't want to talk about?"

Naruto nodded waiting for Sasuke to continue

"Anyway, by that time, Orochimaru had already fled, leaving behind both the armies. Gaara and his siblings along with their sensei were captured and are being held in the ANBU prison." he stopped for a moment more, considering what else happened "That team from Kiri sent their regards as well. Shin said that they'd stay a few more days and that he'd love to spar with you... crazy bastard" Sasuke finished, muttering the last part, which caused Naruto to laugh. He remembered to disable the privacy seal and turned to Sakura

"What about you Sakura?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"I did nothing much" she somewhat shyly said, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. Since when did Sakura have confidence issues? As far as he could remember, she was the loudest, most self-assured person he knew.

"Did nothing?" Sasuke stared at her incredulously "I'm pretty sure you earned a chunin vest just for keeping us alive back there! You were a single medic keeping seven other people alive!" he near shouted, while Sakura blushed from the praise, while Naruto was genuinely surprised to see Sasuke of all people defending her.

"That means your studies with Kabuto went well... I'm glad for you." he added in a calm, but caring voice.

It was funny though, just how their team dynamics changed. Originally, Sasuke was the team leader, while Naruto fawned over Sakura who in turn fawned over Sasuke. Sasuke had all the talent, while Sakura was near useless, and Naruto was the wild card of the team. Now, Sasuke had become quite the fighter, with well developed skills in both ninjutsu and taijutsu, closely followed by his now emerging kenjutsu skills. Sakura had dedicated her time to medical pursuits, quickly learning and putting her intellect and excellent chakra control to good use. And Naruto the dobe? He was long gone, in his place another. A calm and collected individual, who had no problem using his tactical skills or sheer power to defeat his enemies. A person who thought first and acted second. One who could take lives without emotion, while still maintaining his sanity and heart. A true shinobi of the leaf. Well, the whole effect probably wouldn't have been ruined if said shinobi didn't have a ramen addiction, a near obsession with seals, the deeply ingrained desire to pull pranks in addition to having a fox that very much enjoyed messing around with him at times... oh well, it's not like had any issues with any of those 'problems'.

"Thanks" Sakura replied with a beaming smile, proud that she was finally catching up to the guys in her team. "Come on, Kabuto-sensei said that we can't stay long" she quietly spoke, pulling Sasuke out

"Oh, and before I forget, there will be something of a celebration tomorrow night at that bar we visited a while ago. You're invited." Sasuke added as the two of them left

The silence, interrupted only by the rhythmic sounds of his breathing was suffocating. Naruto hated it, it reminded him far too much of the past days when he was _alone._ But then again, his mind argued, now he had the time to go over the events of the past days. Time seemingly flew during those days, seeing as he had very little free time at his disposal. Anko visited his thoughts frequently, and he wondered what she was doing now... probably torturing some poor sod. He chuckled at the idea. He was sad thought that she couldn't be here with him. Thinking back t his friends, he reminded himself of their own achievements. Both of his teammates had come a long way from the rookies they were a while ago. They were still little better than chunin rank, however given a year or two at best they would reach jounin. His thoughts also went to the several strange presences he identified during his fights. Constant use of the Radiance forced his mind to process even more information on a daily basis, and even now he didn't like going through the exact details of a hundred and fifty meter sphere around him as it caused him a major headache. Still, he could sense every living thing within that range without any problems. He sensed seven people for whom he had no idea who they were. All seven of them suppressing their entire presence, so that his Radiance had barely caught them. Five of them seemed to be on the side of Konoha, while the other two were... observing? He'd have to speak with the old man, about both. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt a familiar presence creep back into the room, carrying a grin very similar to his own. He smiled again as he closed his eyes, now his nigt was complete.

_(22:00 Undisclosed location)_

"Well that turned out to be boring" a quiet voice sounded over the chirping of the campfire. The pair of men who were visiting Konoha for a while now, were finally done here, having left as soon as the battle was over.

"Hush. At least the brat was entertaining." the other one answered in a calm voice. Both of them had their eyes glued to the arena when Naruto fought. And both had to admit that it was indeed a sight. "In a few years, he might even give me a challenge" he continued

"Challenge you? Now that would be a sight to see" the first one whispered "But he is an intriguing one. The reports claim that a few months ago, he was nothing more than an average genin. Now, he already borders jounin level"

"Kage if you count that transformation. I think he knows we followed him" the second one commented, mentally agreeing with the first one's deductions."But then again, he is _their _son. He has the potential"

"Well then, shall we go?"

"Hai my friend, otherwise my wife will kill us"the other retorted, all the while chuckling.

_(AN: Cookies for those who guessed who the two were :P)_

_(Same time, Streets of Konoha)_

Another loud sigh was heard as a group of chunin led by one Shiranui Genma searched the ruins of the northern district for survivors. Out of all the areas, it was only this one that got damaged, as the fighting was at it's worst there. Nearly a dozen buildings got completely leveled, and a part of the wall was destroyed. Now, two full squads of ANBU watched over the opening. The walls were covered by lights of burning fires and many ninja kept constant patrols over the area, while others stood guard in the interment camp hastily constructed just outside the city walls. The surrendering troops were kept there. Genma sighed yet again, there was so much work to do around them. In a war among ninja, troops don't usually surrender as most battles are to the death, or people are captured. However, Konoha obliterated the enemy forces, leaving about a third of the total troops still alive and imprisoned. Apart from the VIPs all others were there.

In another area of town, a bit away from the streets, the so-called 'Dango Place' once more opened, and with the speed gossip travels among ninja, within five minutes there were already enough customers to fill the place up. How the owner, who was a civilian got back from the shelters so fast was anyone's guess , but they sure as hell didn't mind the food and drinks he provided. In one of the booths, a small group consisting of Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai and Asuma were using their break time to relax a bit.

"Man, this was a long day" Asuma tiredly commented, earning nods from the other three. He picked up his saucer, taking a long sip from it, before placing the cigar back into his mouth."I just handed over the report for my team. Fifty take-downs in total, including that Kidomaru guy... what about your teams? How did they go?"

"I haven't got a clue what my team did, they were broken up between Neji's and Naruto's squad." Kurenai explained, tiredly taking some of the sake, the sharp taste helping keep her awake.

"My youthful team did great!" Gai exuberantly stated, even though he was tired. Unlike the others, Gai avoided drinking during nights like this, as he, for all his stamina had a low level of alcohol tolerance. "We capture an enemy kunoichi while taking out around thirty enemy ninja. What about your team, my youthful rival?" He finally asked Kakashi, who remained silent throughout the entire talk.

"My team?" Kakashi asked, half-aware about where the conversation was going, while the other half of his attention was focused on the small orange book in his hands "Well, Sasuke, Shino and Kiba each took out at least ten enemies each. The Mist team helped them out..." he stopped for a moment, waiting for the others to catch the bait. A small bit of anger showed him that he hit the right spot.

"What about Naruto?" Kurenai asked with a slight hit of anger in her voice, disappointed that Kakashi would skip him, and after she heard such interesting gossip.

"Oh, Naruto, I visited him a little while ago. He's recovering from chakra exhaustion. During the battle, he only took out two opponents..." Kakashi continued in a flat voice, noting the slightly disappointed looks '_Now_ _to_ _drop_ _the_ _bomb_'

"Gaara and Kimimaro" he added. It took a few seconds for the information to settle properly into the minds of his friends, and during that time, he chuckled at their expressions... and wished that he had a camera to immortalize the moment. One can never have too much blackmail material.

(_Tomorrow morning, Hospital_)

Hiruzen Sarutobi once more rubbed his temples. It had been over twenty four hours since he last saw a bed, forced to stay awake to coordinate the security... which was a nightmare. The collateral damage to the village was mostly minimal, however, a number of sabotage teams did get through, damaging the walls and a good part of the northern district.... and then there was the _paperwork_. He silently thanked Naruto for telling him the utterly brilliant way to deal with it. Of course, the council was of no aid, since they were still in the shelters, afraid to walk out, the civilian part at least. A satisfied smirk crossed his face, mostly scaring the workers at the hospital. He now had the leverage he needed.

A small knock stirred Naruto. Feeling on the bed with his right hand, he smiled at feeling Anko' warm body right next to his own. His eyes opened to see the smiling figure of the Hokage

"Good morning old man. You look like shit" Naruto bluntly greeted him, causing the old man to chuckle a bit.

"Blunt as ever Naruto-kun, I see you've had 'company'" he teased with a grin. Naruto blushed a bit, but decided to retort.

"Well, at least I'm not to _old_ for company" he added in an equal tone. They both smirked at each other, only to be interrupted by a small laugh from the window. Both turned to spot a certain white-haired pervert

"Well, I'm glad to see that my pupil is already following in my steps" He stated with a thumbs-up, all the while motioning towards a sleeping Anko. Now, Naruto blushed even more, and Sarutobi and Jiraya laughed at the boy's discomfort. A few seconds later, the laughter stopped, as Naruto's face turned serious.

"Ne, jiji? I have a question" Naruto stated. The old hokage nodded in response, telling him to continue.

"During the invasion, I, uh... sensed, seven figures I couldn't identify at all. Five of them were helping us, and kept their chakra signature so damn well masked, that all I could see was a faint outline. The other two were standing still all the time, as barely visible as the others. Any ideas as to who they were?" Naruto finished his short report leaving a rather bewildered pair listening to him. It was Jiraya that spoke first.

"You actually detected them." he spoke, his voice not louder than a whisper. "The two you speak off are associates of mine, that I've asked to watch over the area during the invasion to make sure none of the Akatsuki interfere. Due to various political reasons they couldn't fight with us, but they could make sure that no one came in unannounced." he explained.

"So, they were either missing-nin or from another village" Naruto shortly stated, while Jiraya nodded. At this time, Sarutobi gave Jiraya a 'We'll talk about this later' look.

"The other five you detected were some of our own ANBU operatives" Hiruzen half-lied, giving Naruto a look that told him not to ask questions. For all his curiosity, Naruto learned to understand the meaning of the words 'need to know', and kept his mouth shut. Curiosity or not, getting people in trouble or worse wasn't something that he wanted to do. Deciding to turn the subject to something else, he decided to ask about one thing that was on his mind

"What happened to Gaara?" he asked in a somewhat somber voice. He already had several scenarios in his head, and none of them were good. Hiruzen sighed tiredly, aware that the boy shared a bond on some level with Gaara as a fellow jinchuriki. He also knew that the boy cold be trusted with important information, and he would have to do so, considering he had a seat on the council, active or not. The two ANBU in the room were no risk, as both were chosen to watch over Naruto by himself.

"Gaara and his siblings along with their sensei are being held in prison. Sine he has cooperated and given us the information we needed, none of them have been interrogated further. However, the Wind Daimyo will be arriving by the in six days' time, along with the Fire Daimyo, to proceed with the negotiations."

"Negotiations?" Naruto asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"Yes. Although it is within both our power and our right to wipe Sunagakure of the face of the earth, that would create a vacuum of power within the region, allowing many of the more militant organizations the space to spread their influence and grow in power. We lack the numbers to properly secure both Wind and Fire country, so it would actually be more of a risk to destroy them." Sarutobi explained "Also, our border patrols came across two groups of corpses this morning, one identified as the late Kazekage, Subaku Basai and his entourage, who were dead for a little over five months, all killed by liberal doses of snake venom" he continued, causing an annoyed sigh from the blond, and a small whisper of Orochimaru.

"The second group was a messenger team, sent a day before the invasion in an attempt to stop the Suna army from attacking, as the council discovered Orochimaru's machinations. Sadly they were also killed, before they could reach their target. Next to nothing is known about their killer."

Jiraya waited and watched the boy's reaction to the news. Naruto was going through a number of emotions as Sarutobi spoke, the first being surprise mixed with a sliver of happiness and comfort, immediately followed by utter disgust and cold rage. His normally blue eyes were showing just a tinge of red.

Naruto was pissed. His mind quickly connected the pieces and put them into place along with the small bits of memories he had picked up while talking to Gaara. It all made perfect sense now, hindsight was 20/20. He remembered the last visit of the now late Kazekage, which was around five months ago. Orochimaru killed him then, probably replaced him and his entourage with himself and his own men, walked into Suna and took over the position of Kage there. If it was him, he'd arrange the escorts to receive missions in hard to reach areas... such as Rice country for instance, where they would inexplicably die on the mission, without a body ever being recovered. After that it would be a joke to sabotage the country in more than one way, all the while preparing a full-scale invasion on Konoha with the combined armies of both hidden villages.. However, questions still remained. If he truly wanted Suna destroyed, why didn't all of their troops arrive? Reports state that ls than a half of Suna's total number was sent, so why such an action? He was quite sure that both others beside him were having the same thoughts. His gut was telling him something that had him worried, that this entire invasion was more of a diversion than anything else

"Why did he do it?" was all he could ask, all that he could say without letting loose an endless string of obscenities. "It doesn't make any sense"

However, the reaction his words provoked was one that surprised him. A smile covered both faces.

"I see you came to the same conclusion as us gaki..." Jiraya sagely stated "Orochimaru is planning something, and I'm pretty sure that this defeat only sets him back for a while."

"Rest up a bit Naruto, you're getting a few days off to recover, and I want you in my office, three days from now, 7:00 in the morning." Sarutobi added before shunshining out with a small smile and wave of his hand. Jiraya shook his head.

"Well, kid, the two of you have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't. I'm off to do some research" he said, gleefully pointing at Anko, while going towards the window.

"Get going you old pervert. Just make sure you don't get killed by all those women you are spying on.." Naruto added in a much brighter tone. Jiraya laughed it off and jumped out of the window. Things were going to be interesting.

An hour later, Naruto and Anko left the hospital, side by side.

"So, where to now?" Anko asked curiously. She overslept, much to her pleasure, and wanted nothing more than to spend the day lazing about with Naruto, and he himself had nothing against the idea.

"That Dango Place should be open, no?" he quietly replied, snaking a hand around her waist. Anko did the same as both silently walked on. Naruto idly noted that he was a bit higher than Anko now, that, and the fact that he could use a haircut. He slowly turned his head towards Anko, softly whispering in her ear "Once were done there, I'm showing you _our _new place"

Like so many others, Iruka was rubbing his temples while going over hi own report. Since Ichiraku's hadn't opened yet, as Teuchi and Ayame hadn't yet come back from the shelters, a few sticks of dango and some tea helped him out immensely. He always wondered how the Hokage didn't go insane from working on so much paperwork. Also, said problem caused him to miss the approach of a certain blond ninja and his girlfriend.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto greeted the tired chunin with a wide smile.

"Hey Naruto" Iruka greeted back "Anko-san" he added, slightly worried about his favorite former student, but seeing that Anko was not only calm around him, but was actually holding him with love, quickly dispersed any doubts he may have had. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are going for you?"

"Never better. I assume you know Anko-hime?" Naruto asked, while Anko waved with a somewhat sinister smile.

"Yeess, I've had the, uhm, pleasure of meeting Anko-san before" Iruka nervously replied, all the while thinking of the time he decided to take a shortcut through the Forest of Death and disturbed her beauty sleep as she called it. Anko was grinning all the while he was talking

"You were such a sweet guy Iruka-_kun_. A real gentleman, just like loverboy here" Anko commented while putting a kiss on Naruto's cheek. The boy laughed at Iruka's discomfort.

"Who do you think I learned it from?" Naruto asked jokingly, softly nudging Anko in the ribs, trying to at least slightly protect one of his favorite people in Konoha. "Sorry for not coming to see you sooner Iruka-sensei, life's been pretty hectic for me. We'd love it if you would drop by for dinner sometime, right Anko?" Naruto asked both of them.

"Yeah, that would be nice" Iruka said with a soft smile, the one he reserved for his close friends.

"Hey, I forgot to ask, did those bracers work for you?" Naruto suddenly asked, remembering the gift he had prepared for his old sensei.

"Hai, they were excellent. The barrier helped stop quite a few jutsu during the invasion." Iruka replied with a grin. _'He doesn't need to know every detail, thankfully'_

The three shred a table and relaxed a bit, spending over an hour talking about the little things in life. Naruto learned that Iruka's new class seemed to be rather talented, and several changes in the curriculum, inspired by the troubles of the last generation helped out immensely. Anko retold some of the more entertaining gossip she overheard during the last few days, along with the unofficial leader board that was placed inside the Shinobi bar, for the most lethal ninja during the invasion, of course, Anko was proudly holding the third place, right behind Kakashi and Gai. Of course, very few people in their right mind would compete with the two, which this being a world of ninja, meant that a lot of people challenged the records. Strangely enough, even Naruto got a place on the list, being 11th wasn't much, but the two wins he scored apparently got the attention. Later on, the two said their goodbyes to the scarred chunin, and headed off towards the general area of the clan holds.

_'Having a demonic fox sealed inside you can be awfully convenient at times'_ Naruto silently mused as he felt his body finally recover. Kabuto was wrong apparently, as the response rate of his muscles was back to normal already, along with his chakra levels which were slowly but surely refilling.

_'**Why thank you**'_Kyuubi jokingly replied to his thoughts.

'_Hey Kyu, how did you like the show?_' Naruto mentally asked a he hugged Anko closer

_'**It was entertaining. Reminds me of the days I still had a body... ah those were the times**' _Kyuubi wistfully stated, and Naruto could have sworn that a tear fell from his eye _**'You know, I think it's time you did something more about your mate'**_ the ancient fox sagely advised. Naruto would have quirked an eyebrow, but he had long since learned that it was unwise to show signs of talking to yourself, regardless of how minute.

'_Agreed. Now that I can finally remove her curse seal, I really should_'

_**'That's not what I had in mind, and you know it Naruto'**_ Kyuubi mock-scolded '**_It's about time you took your relationship a step further, it's not like she would mind_**' he continued baiting.

_'I'm not going to force her into anything Kyuubi' _Naruto angrily replied, insulted by the insinuation _'I care for her far too much to even consider hurting her'_

_**'Good reply kit. That is a wise choice to make. Besides, it would save you from a lot of pain, both physical and emotional. However, keep in mind that you don't have much time before your enemies are on the move. Every sliver of strength you can gather will be useful.' **_Kyuubi calmed him. Naruto loudly sighed, drawing his companion's attention

"Something wrong?" she whispered. Naruto quietly shook his head as he guided her onwards

Anko enjoyed the walk very much, and even more the fact that the man she loved was holding her close. It made her feel like a little girl who's prince charming came to sweep her off her feet. But heaven help anyone who'd think to say something like that to her. It felt nice to feel... normal again, like the horrors Orochimaru put her through never happened. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Naruto would heaven and earth to keep her safe and happy, and she'd gladly do the same for him. She was curious as to their destination however, as she rarely went towards this specific part of the clan districts. The fortified hold of the Aburame clan along with the fenced off area belonging to the Inuzuka stood at their sides as the young couple fearlessly walked through the forest, left alone by the many beasts that rivaled those in the Forest of Death. Naruto remained quiet for the duration of the trip, choosing to show his emotions and thoughts by contact rather than words, and the warmth she basked in told her everything she needed to know.

The village was damaged, many upper-story rooms having broken walls and thin layers of snow in them, several streets were in an even worse condition, with large craters and fallen debris. The cleaning crews were working overtime to fix everything up. Thankfully none of the more important buildings were damaged badly, but overall, the village needed a lot of fixing.

As they kept walking, the estate came into sight. She was impressed by the ornately carved walls which kept the interior safe, and even more so by the seal-covered gates. It did help that Naruto simply raised his hand and the gates opened before them, revealing the snow covered, but perfectly maintained gardens that led to the simple, yet beautiful homestead.

"Welcome home hime" Naruto warmly whispered into her ear, and a single tear came down her cheek._ She was home._

_(Three days later, Hokage Tower, the Office of the Hokage)_

Naruto stood at attention in front of the desk of his leader... who was by the way asleep. Apparently, one of the 'perks' of the job was staying for all-nighters. However, Naruto calmly waited for Sarutobi to awaken. One might ask how Naruto, the hyperactive being that he is could calmly wait for a long time. The reason was understandable, for today was the day his heritage was announced to the general public, right after a council meeting concerning it. Naruto smirked at the preparations that the three of them did, greatly aided by Saito Yakushi, the Head Doctor at Konoha Hospital. He was especially proud of the three objects he now held on his person, three incredibly valuable objects for which _many _would kill without a second thought, and he was pretty sure that there were those on the council who would want nothing more than to claim his family's wealth and power for themselves.

_(Flashback, 36 hours ago)_

A loud yawn was heard within the subterranean vault of the Namikaze estate. There were very few things that got Naruto's blood boiling, and something like the Seal Vaults could easily reach the top of that list. After the better part of eight hours he managed to unlock six of the seven plates that covered the first of the Vaults, the one marked 'Song of the Wind', and he had just fifteen seconds left until it reset itself, and he would have to start over. He had to admit that the work helped him better understand the inner workings of arrays as a whole, not to mention that it gave him several ideas for works of his own. Naruto was slowly guiding a string of his own chakra, cautious to the extreme but still fast enough to finish it on time.

_Ten_ _seconds_

Only five seals remained to the last one that would open the vault, and only one was the right one. His mind was going into overdrive, analyzing the makeup of said seals, trying to figure out which one was the right one.

_Five seconds_

Threesealswere eliminated, leaving only two, but which one? Deciding to give his luck a shot, randomly chose the left one and sent the string of chakra through it, activating the seal.

_Click_

Anko watched him from the sides, enjoying the look of pure bliss on his face, the result of a long time at work. The crystal began unraveling before them, as a pale bluish light encompassed the object which unsealed itself from it's core. Floating above the now-opened vault was a katana. The elegant sheath of the blade was colored in sapphire blue, with a simple metallic silver lining representing winds on it's surface. The handle was equally simple, slightly longer than a normal katana and covered in a bluish cloth, allowing better grip. Around the sheath was a scroll, sealed with a blood seal meant only for those of his blood to open. However, he set it aside, as proud as he was of his achievement, there were still another two to open.

_(End flashback)_

And open he did. It is rather interesting just how much power a large leather-bound tome, a single tri-pronged kunai with a scroll around it and a katana could hold. The katana was his mother's blade, forged over two centuries ago, and still as perfectly sharp as the day it was made, the kunai was meant for the legendary Hiraishin, the Flying Thunder God, the most powerful of the five jutsu his father, Minato Namikaze created, and the one that gave him the nickname Yellow Flash. However, the third one was equally, if not even more dangerous. The Codex of Seals was a book of power, mildly put, as it contained every single seal or array that Minato had come across in his life, carefully analyzed, studied and added. In addition, every single seal jutsu that he found was added as well. He knew that people like Danzo would sell their mother just for an hour with the book.

And now, all three were perfectly sealed into tattoos on his chest, well concealed by an number of other seal tattoos around them. Not even Jiraya could trace the seals he used properly.

His musings over events past was interrupted by the awakening of the old man. Sarutobi tiredly rubbed his eyes, forcing himself awake.

"Ah, Naruto, you're already here" Sarutobi tried to speak with a bit of mirth... and failed miserably.

"You should really try and get some sleep old man, or this job will kill ya" Naruto jokingly added, causing an annoyed sigh from the old man. Sarutobi looked at the clock, and was pleased with himself for waking up just on time for the meeting.

"Sigh.. so much for sleeping a bit more. Come Naruto, time to give the council reasons to worry" Sarutobi explained with a satisfied smirk on his face "After that, I'll brief you on your next mission"

The two of them walked in silence, only stopping for a moment to check a large folder for all the papers necessary for their plan to work. There were more than a few people who would oppose Naruto's claim of being a Namikaze for a multitude of reasons. Thankfully, Naruto had decided to spend a long while studying the laws of Konoha, which left him with a number of rather entertaining pieces of leverage he could use.

On the ground floor of the Hokage tower, was the circular chamber of the Council. The two shinobi that guarded the chamber saluted the Hokage, and much to Naruto's surprise offered a smile to him as well. Inside, the two councils, accompanied by the three elders, not-so-eagerly awaited their arrival.

"Ready Naruto?" Sarutobi asked in a fatherly tone

"As ready as I'll ever be." Naruto replied, a slight hint of nervousness slipping past his guard. As the two of them walked in, Naruto schooled his features into a look of complete apathy, one that gave no clues as to his emotions, or worse, weaknesses.

"Why have you called us Sarutobi?" Danzo asked in an irritated voice, that made Naruto want to kill him. He may have messed with the old man, be he _respected_ him, and like for all of his precious people, he would gladly die to protect him. The blunt disrespect of the Hokage angered him. He wasn't the only one apparently, as Sarutobi was equally angry, however, he hid it much better under a smirk which promised trouble, and many of the clan heads were annoyed or outright angry with him.

"Be quiet Danzo" he spoke in a cold voice "Lest I remind you why I am the hokage"

"Can we please get to the subject of this meeting Hokage-sama? We are all tired and edgy" Hiashi, ever the mediator, asked in an even tone, trying to diffuse the situation. Mostly so he could deal with his growing headache. The others murmured in approval, but some of the civilian council glared at Naruto... who didn't spare them as much as a look. His appearance here brought up a number of questions in the minds of several of the clan heads, most notably Hiashi and Shikaku.

"Right. I called you all here today to make an important announcement concerning Naruto Uzumaki" he calmly stated, causing mixed reactions from the crowd. Some called for his death,others were uninterested, and then there was Danzo, with his plans to make weapons out of people. Both wisely tuned them out

"Despite what you were told fourteen years ago, the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki didn't die." Sarutobi started, causing quite a few surprised looks, and a few of understanding "After repeated blood tests and gathering the required paperwork, I can safely announce that Naruto Uzumaki is in fact Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, and as such the heir of the Namikaze and Uzumaki names and families along with all of their legacies" he explained, all the while channeling a small amount of chakra to his ears to prepare for the oncoming shouts.

"WHAT?" screamed near a half of the civilians along with Danzo. Homura and Koharu, while not overly fond of the young blond had nothing against him, and they both knew that they owed more than they cared to admit to the young man in front of them. Unlike the civilian part of the council the shinobi were perfectly aware of Naruto's role in the battle less than a week ago, and the all-out surrender caused by his actions, which in turn saved countless lives. The least they could do was act civil.

Hiashi Hyuuga was surprised, but his features would never show such a commoner emotion. Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka were paying up their bet to Shikaku Nara, as the lazy genius apparently guessed it right. Tsume Inuzuka was very much surprised, Shibi Aburame retained his logical face, although inside he was just as surprised

"It's a lie! There's no way that the demon brat can be the son of our beloved Yondaime" shouted one of the civilians, a fat slob by the name of Itari Kanaga

Sarutobi was about to call the ANBU to take the man away, but he was interrupted by a raised hand from Naruto and a look that clearly told him to let him handle things his way.

"For a person who claims to love and respect my father so much, you are awfully distrusting of his skills as a Seal Master" Naruto calmly stated "In your hypocrisy, do you claim to know the Reaper Death Seal better than he did? Or that you understand the works of the Shinigami, hmm?" he continued in a cold tone"Or is it simply the fact that you couldn't care less and want the power and wealth of Minato Namikaze for yourself regardless of the consequences such an act would have for this village and it's people? Minato Namikaze asked for one thing alone in return for sacrificing two lives, his own and mine. He asked that I be given a normal life. Apparently, it was too much to ask for some" he finished in a tone that left no doubts to his loathing of the man, and to make things worse, no one had any arguments to claim that he wasn't right. Itari was forced to shut up. Sarutobi kept an even face, but inwardly he smirked at the short speech. His father had once done something similar. Hidden in one of the corners, Jiraya was doing his best to control his laughter. A few of the clan heads looked approvingly. This was an unspoken test, and they agreed that he passed with flying colors.

"According to the laws of Konohagakure, I present you the copies of a blood-type and DNA match to Minato Namikaze, along with the marriage certificate for Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki and my own birth certificate. In accordance with the _laws,_ this is sufficient evidence to prove that I am the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, an as such the legal heir to the Uzumaki-Namikaze name and property." Naruto finished the rehearsed speech, already annoyed by the glares some sent at him, and the fake apologetic looks from some of the others. The only ones he did tolerate were those that remained impassive, such as the ninja and a few of the civilians who treated him normally for a while now. It was time for the final blow to their egos.

"I suggest we invoke the C..." Danzo started, only to be frozen by a blast of killing intent

"No" Naruto stated in a deathly voice, giving a full display of his strength, one that left no room for argument. He had no intent to allow the CRA, the Clan Restoration Act, which would force him to marry multiple women for the sole purpose of building up a clan. The Namikaze were never a clan, and the Uzumaki were a royal family. He had very little interest in building one. "I will not accept the Clan Restoration Act" he continued in a calmer voice.

"And what makes you think that you have any choice in the matter?" one of the civilian councilmen spoke. At this point, Hiashi, Inoichi and Shikaku were listening carefully for Naruto's reply, curious to see how the boy would handle it. The satisfied smirk that crossed his lips had them slightly concerned

"The law" Naruto shortly stated "You don't have any legal grounds to invoke the CRA on me. The Namikaze were a normal family, not a clan, and the Uzumaki were a royal family. I also lack any discernible bloodline which would give you the right of forcing it upon me." he explained, much to the satisfaction of the hokage. Hiruzen was feeling greatly proud of the boy, as he knew that he couldn't have stated it better himself. "Also, you seem to forget another rather interesting piece of law which concerns former hokages " Naruto added with a smirk, which caused a worried frown on more than one face. The three that watched him had come to similar decisions concerning to boy's political skills

"As the last living relative of the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, I inherit a seat on the Shinobi Council"

Complete and utter silence descended upon the chamber. Naruto could hear the cacophonous laughter of Kyuubi inside his head, and he had to use every single bit of his willpower not to join him at the sight of the blanched faces of the councilmen, especially those that spent a good deal of their time trying to get him killed.

"However, I can't claim my council seat yet, because of the simple reason that I have very little time to dedicate to the job between the missions and my studies right now. As such I am entrusting my position and vote to Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage." he finished curtly. Throughout the entire discussion, his facial expression never changed, making him scarily reminiscent of his late father, and at times of Hiashi Hyuuga. His eyes displayed all the emotion he wished to show, and looking at them was mostly unpleasant. He had achieved what he wanted, and he knew that the civilian council, along with a few others now had no more influence over him.

"Now that that matter is settled, I have two more announcements to make" Sarutobi started, once more forcing silence in the chamber.

"First, Jiraya the Toad Sage has chosen to take Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze as his apprentice." He calmly stated, and this time there were no surprised faces among the shinobi, the only ones being annoyed still were several civilians, mostly those who didn't want to accept the reality of the situation.

"And second, I will soon be stepping down from my position as Hokage. As such, I have chosen my successor to be Senju Tsunade. Jiraya and Naruto will be dispatched to locate her and call her back" Sarutobi explained to the now tired council. The looks of shock and surprise at the new balance of power was something that he would treasure for years to come. And the fact that Danzo gave a resigned sigh to his choice of a new hokage was pleasant, but worrying. Danzo rarely gave up. Still, there was little time for such thoughts now, he mused as the two of them walked towards the office. As soon as they left the chamber, Naruto's face instantly changed to his normal calm, if somewhat happy expression.

"Man, that was hard" he near whispered "I think I pulled a facial muscle in there" he added, causing a light chuckle from the lips of the old man.

"That's politics for you Naruto. Remember, you're the one who wanted to be Hokage" Hiruzen teased the boy, only to hear light grumbling, which caused him to laugh loudly, along with bringing snickers from the passing guards.

Inside the office, they were greeted by two figures, Anko and Jiraya. Naruto knew that he was going with Jiraya, but why did he call Anko in?

"Hey gaki" Jiraya greeted, while Anko smiled mischievously.

"I've decided to also send Anko along with the two of you on the mission" Sarutobi explained to a surprised Naruto, who only smiled in response and went to kiss Anko, throwing all caution to the wind. '_This mission will be fun_', both of them thought.

"Alright, already"Sarutobi spoke, trying to be louder than Jiraya's girlish giggles and note writing. "You are to leave tomorrow morning. Jiraya knows how to track down Tsunade" he explained before giving up on making the three of them act seriously and went for his own stash of sake. If there ever was a time he needed it, it was now.

_(7:00, Konoha's North Gate)_

One would assume that a seemingly empty area, is just that, empty. No tracks in the fallen snow, not a hint of presence, or a chakra signature. However, such a person wouldn't last long, as within seconds three figures revealed themselves. All three wore white cloaks over their clothes, rendering them near invisible in the shine of the fallen snow and the falling snowflakes.

"Ready?" The first figure, a large man asked

"Hai" the two others replied.

Naruto was excited by the prospect of a new mission, and one that was actually important. He had given up on his usual red coat, exchanging it for a newly bought white one which he covered with seals on the interior, strengthening it to the level of normal combat armor used by the ANBU. The white coat covered his favorite brown pants and shirt, being buttoned up from waist up, carefully concealing a utility belt along with a pair of bracers on the arms.

Anko had to forgo her favorite fishnet outfit for something warmer. Chakra tricks or not, she really didn't have the luxury of light clothing anymore. A pair of black pants and a thick shirt covered by her usual trenchcoat and the same white cloak over.

And then there was Jiraya, who against all common sense went in the same clothes, only covered with a white cloak, muttering something about survival training.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked as the three used the trees to move towards north. Jiraya was hesitant to speak apparently, and that had him worried

"North" he answered "To the remains of the Whirlpool Kingdom"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I'm not exactly pleased by how this came out, however the next few chapters should be a bit more interesting. I intend to give a different appearance to the regions they will pass through, and flesh out a bit of the world's background. Along with references to the second and third shinobi wars. Also, for those interested here's a link to a picture of the map of the Naruto world for those interested where the heck is the Whirlpool kingdom. Keep in mind though, that I intend to take a lot of liberty with the actual geography of the world.

http: //s902. photobucket. com /albums /ac229 /jmg1988 /?action =view&cu rrent=Wo rld-2_0. gif  
Just remove the breaks and paste it into your address bar.

As an added detail, just so you know, Naruto keeps the Codex of Seals, along with his mother's blade and the Hiraishin kunai in a seal on his chest.

Read and review folks. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	14. Ruins of Whirlpool : Northern Borders

**Author's Notes:** Okay, this will be the first large arc which is non-cannon. It will start out a bit slow. There will be several foretelling events, and of course a vivid if unpleasant picture of the harsh aftermath of the war which destroyed the Whirlpool Kingdom. Also, I intend to paint a somewhat deeper picture of Anko, Naruto and Jiraya, along with their relationships. Then there will be Tsunade and Shizune, the Akatsuki, Orochimaru and his cronies, and a special guest who will not be revealed. Expect this to last at least four chapters. As an additional touch, be prepared to see a very, _very _serious Jiraya, who apart from a joke or two keeps his focus on the job at hand. This is my depiction of the man who earned the title of Sannin and survived countless battles, as I'm seriously disturbed (and at times entertained) by the depictions of the man as a perverted idiotic weakling... it just doesn't make sense that one of the most powerful people in the world (admitted by Nagato, alias Pain, who's basically in the top of the list on the subject) would be nothing more than a foolish lecher.(Even Super Perverts have heart :P)

* * *

_Chapter 14 : Ruins of Whirlpool : Northern Borders_

The three figures moved through the snow covered forest with a great sense of urgency. White hooded cloaks covering most of their bodies, equally white masks covering their faces. They were seemingly silent as they moved, like three shadows sweeping through the forest along with the rising sun, none of them leaving as much as a footstep or a broken twig in their way.

Mitarashi Anko gave a long sigh, easily heard by the other two over the radio. They were at it since before dawn, which was nearly four hours ago. She still vividly remembered the briefing Jiraya gave them last night, along wit the orders to prepare their affairs for an extended leave of absence.

"_For one reason or another, Tsunade was spotted by my associates in the north north, within the ruins of the former Whirlpool kingdom. Thankfully, I have a few contacts there, so we should be able to track her down once we get there. However, we are going through neutral territory once we cross the border, which means we're open to attacks from anyone, mostly Iwa and Oto along with the occasional Kumo squad. Takigakure is mostly peaceful, and they have very little interest in the ruins of their neighbor, unlike the others. Besides that, we'll be making a one week break before we reach Whirlpool for training. For both of you. The mission should last a month, two at most unless something goes wrong_"

She had good reason to worry, because unlike Naruto, she constantly monitored the reports about the states of other countries, something that most experienced shinobi did. Whirlpool was a lawless land, mostly consisting of smaller villages with usually no more than five to ten families, and of course the ruins of the one glorious capitol city, Nadere. Everything else were either bandit camps, or Iwa and Oto outposts, none of the three good choices. Both she and Naruto perfectly understood that going there meant going under the cover of night, and keeping away from any larger population center from the point when they leave the Fire Country. Thankfully, she had packed for a long trip, and with Naruto's help in planning, they had sufficient equipment to prepare and arm a small battalion. Not to mention enough trap material to stop said battalion. _'It's official,Naruto is a preparation freak' _she silently mused as she kept jumping.

Naruto was unusually calm. The news of their destination utterly silenced him, as a combination of growing interest and curiosity, and fear of what he would face entered his mind. Ever since he was a child, Naruto learned that not having the equipment to protect yourself was a fatal error, and when carrying literally weightless equipment, there was no such thing as over-preparing. The interior of the white coat was lined with storage scrolls, containing enough weapons, tools, food and medicine to sustain them for the better part of two months. '_Common sense is a useless commodity in the world of the ninja' _he silently mused as they kept jumping, his mind going back to his prized possessions. The silver ring that Anko gave him, a pledge in return for the amulet he gave her. He immediately thought of Haku, wondering if the boy would agree with his decision. The sword Quicksilver, safely sealed inside the seal on his palm. The Leaf hitai-ate given to him by Iruka. His mother's blade, the two scrolls, the Hiraishin kunai and finally the Codex. Each an object of great personal value, each a symbol of what he was, of what he represented, of what he believed in. His mind was now focused on his mental list of goals, most of them concerning improving his skills or Anko in one way or another. A part of his mind went to Gaara, worried if the boy would survive the oncoming chaos For some reason he had a feeling that he wouldn't be home for a while.

Surprisingly, Jiraya wasn't thinking of porn. Well, at least surprisingly to those who didn't know him well. Like most veteran ninja, he needed a release of some sort from the daily horrors of shinobi life, and for him it was his perverted tendencies that kept him sane. For Tsunade it was sake, for Kakashi it was Icha Icha, for Gai, his 'youthfulness', the list goes on. Jiraya was currently focusing on the mission he and the other two were taking. Whirlpool held some painful memories for him, memories of his own failures in times past when the squad he led failed to reach the royal family in time, saving only a young Kushina from the court before it was overrun.

His contacts had spotted Tsunade and Shizune heading towards the rebuilt city of Nadere. Although the place was a shadow of it's former self, it's population was slowly growing of the trade routes they managed to establish with their neighbors, exporting their masterfully crafted art and tools, along with refined ore, while using a good part of that money to create a standing army. Kumo and Iwa didn't have the time and resources to fight against them, so the small city-state survived and grew.

And to top it all there was Kushina's fate. While he never wanted to say it out loud, a part of him always doubted that she died in the hospital, as no body was ever found, and another part suspected that _someone _was involved in making her disappear.

Shaking his head from the thoughts, he focused on the matters at hand: reaching the point of the one week break on their voyage... a small valley to the north, right next to the border. A safe place were it would be possible to rest for a while, and where supplies were abundant over the entire year,as the entire valley was heated by a subterranean lava flow, the small river within it keeping a warm, almost body-heat temperature,which in turn kept the entire valley comfortably warm.

They kept moving at great speed, even as the snow kept falling. Naruto kept the team away from anyone else, using the highest range of his Radiance combined with his chakra tracing skills to avoid anything larger than a wolf. The three white blurs kept moving northwards, avoiding any signs of life, and keeping silent on the way. And so it went for the next eight hours, before they would reach their first stop only to rest for half an hour and then proceed to the second leg of the journey to the border valley.

_(10:00, Konoha ANBU Headquarters, T&I division prison)_

Gaara sighed for probably the hundredth time since he was imprisoned. He couldn't really complain, the treatment was a lot better than he would have expected. The cells were relatively warm, he had food and drink, even being left a few books to keep him entertained, along with a decent light. It was surprisingly comfortable, most likely a benefit of his cooperation. He had also been told that the rest of his family had been granted similar 'living quarters' by the ANBU, who seemed to be surprisingly non-hostile. Not that he cared much, opting to remain generally cold, but polite. Having a good nights sleep did wonders for his demeanor. There wasn't much left of the sweet boy he was years ago, but there was enough humanity left in him that a kinder man could be born.

With just a hint of a smile on his lips he sat next to the chakra suppressing bars of the cell, waiting for the man he remembered as Tiger to come and take over his watch post, and join him for a game of shogi.

The whole situation made little sense to him, but then again, his life rarely did, and he learned to go with the flow over the years. His only thoughts right now were what was his first friend doing, how was his family coping with their imprisonment, and contemplating what the blond enigma told him about true strength. Naruto had a strength he could not comprehend, an on scale that was unknown to him. That final thing he did just showed him how weak he actually was once his shield was beaten. He kept on wondering why he thought so much of the future when he was imprisoned, and most likely awaiting execution. Then again, the world worked in strange ways, and if there was one gift he had received from his insane tenant, it was the foresight madness had at times. It told him that things would get better

"Up for another game?" came the rather calm voice of Tiger

"Tiger-san, of course. Are you ready to lose again?" Gaara replied stoically as the older man pulled out a shogi board and a small bag with the figures., chuckling at the boy's response. Thoughts of the future could wait, for now he had a game to win.

In a cell nearby Temari was lying with her back to the wall. She knew that she was being kept in what could pass as a five star hotel among jail cells, even being allowed to take a supervised bath yesterday, but none of that changed the fact that she was bored out of her mind. She knew what her fate was to be. Execution at worst, turned into a whore or slave at best. They had betrayed their alliance with Konoha, and she doubted that they would look favorably at that. The recent visit from the hokage gave her a bit of hope though. The kindly old man who seemed utterly weak, though she reminded herself that deception was the rule among ninja, had told her that much due to her youngest brother's cooperation they stood a good chance of getting through this alive. Of course, that wasn't certain, and she could only hope that things would turn out fine.

Kankuro was currently busy. Scratch that, he hadn't slept in two days all the while reading a pair of rather interesting scrolls he managed to smuggle on a small tattoo-seal on his arm. He wasn't foolish enough to think that they hadn't noticed, but since they hadn't confiscated them, he kept reading. Out of the three siblings, he was the one who was the closest to panic, so he drowned himself in work, avoiding any thoughts about what fate had in store for him. His work in puppetry keeping him occupied was the best thing he could think off.

_(23:35,Border Valley)_

The tired trio finally entered the small valley very close to midnight. One of the small side caves was soon occupied as they unloaded their basic equipment, and prepared to sleep, while Jiraya set up a few alarm seals and Naruto left behind a few clones, while he himself summoned Gamakichi. He hadn't summoned him since the meeting before the exams, and he wasn't exactly proud of it.

Anko had gathered dry wood, carefully picking out branches to make as little smoke as possible, and set up the fire in the cave, warming it up just enough to comfortably sleep inside, even with the winter weather outside. (AN: to those curious enough, yes, it is quite possible to make a fire that gives very little to no smoke, that is if you can pick out the exact wood for it.. I myself haven't got a clue how to do that, just that the wood has to be very dry, because the damp one gives away thick black smoke.)

Naruto smiled at his sleeping godfather and girlfriend while he drew a bit of his blood over the summoning tattoo on his right arm, before calling forth his companion. The young toad looked a bit bewildered at the location and the cold, coming from warmer climates.

"Hey Gamakichi" Naruto greeted while pulling out some dried food from his stash.

"Hey 'bro. What's up? You haven't summoned me at all" the small toad replied in a slightly angry tone, very reminiscent of a small child.

"Sorry" Naruto answered, rubbing the back of his head, while smiling sheepishly "We were in the middle of war, so I didn't want you to get killed there" he explained.

Gamakichi, calmed down at that, he himself remembering the news he heard from the larger toads that were summoned to Konoha.

"Fine. Though I heard you played hero." the toad smirked "Details"

Naruto laughed at the bluntness, and began retelling everything he did or heard others did to Gamakichi, the telling and laughter calming him down as much as a good night's sleep would. He also noticed Gamakichi eying a piece of candy he had brought out by accident, and offered it.

"Want it?" he asked curiously offering the small candy bar. Gamakichi looked at it with great interest, after all, there was very little candy on mount Myobokuzan.

"Yeah!" he shouted, jumping at the offered candy and grabbing it between his webbed fingers, before tearing off the cover and munching on it

"If fafes fhreaf" he mumbled through his full mouth, bringing up quiet laughter from Naruto, who enjoyed watching his little friend eat, and gladly pulled out another candy bar for him when he released him. He went to sleep in high spirits, awaiting tomorrow to begin his training.

Jiraya was the first to wake, getting up and stretching his body out. Anko followed soon after, and Naruto awoke last. After a short breakfast, Jiraya sat down with a piece of paper, in preparation of the training he intended to administer to both of them. He wasn't blind, and Anko's feelings for Naruto were obvious, as were his for her. He had to control himself from telling them to stop beating around the bush and get at it. A lecherous chuckle resulted from the thoughts of what would follow. However, if Anko stayed close to Naruto, she was a target as well, if for nothing else, to get at Naruto, meaning that she would have to grow stronger as well. A frown crossed his face as he chewed on a bit of meat, he didn't have a good picture of their level of skill, and without that, apart from a few tricks and chakra exercises, there was little he could do. _'A good fight should give me an accurate reading of their level of skill.'_

He calmly waited for them to finish their breakfast before speaking.

"Alright you two, there's a few important things to talk about." he started, pulling out a pipe rather similar to the one Sarutobi used. He added a little tobacco and lit it, taking a deep inhale.

"First, Naruto. As you are now my apprentice, I intend to cram everything I know into that crazy head of yours. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, kinjustu, chakra skills, tracking skills, even stealth, subterfuge and seduction skills. Everything. " he seriously stated" You may not notice it, but Konoha has grown weaker over the years of peace, and we need another legend to raise morale and strike fears into the hearts of our enemies. Both me and Sarutobi-sensei agree that you could be that figure. There's war on the horizon, Kumo and Iwa are arming themselves, and the Akatsuki are after you, and every single one of them is a S-ranked ninja with strength close or over kage level."

Naruto listened intently. He was aware that he was strong, but still... Orochimaru would have beaten him easily in an open battle unless he had an advantage. Any ninja who had years of experience over him combined with equal or greater skill would beat him... and to think, he had an organization of those going after him. A shiver went up his spine at the thought. Just one would be a problem, how about two, or worse, more? As he was lost in his thoughts, Jiraya turned to Anko.

"Second, Anko. As you seem to be very buddy-buddy with Naruto here" he calmly stated with a wide grin, bringing up a very Orochimaru-like grin and stare from the young snake summoner "you are also a target, and as such you need to improve greatly as well. Officially, I'm not teaching you anything, only giving pointers. Unofficially, you're my second apprentice in all but name and I will try and teach you all I can apart from two things. One is the toad summoning contract, and all the special jutsu that require it, but I'm willing to help you develop new ones for the snake contract" he explained

"And two?" Anko asked curiously, feeling much like a child on Christmas morning.

"And the Rasengan, Minato's signature attack, which goes to Naruto. I can't teach it to you without either his or Minato's permission, and since he is dead... well, you get the picture." Jiraya somberly finished, bringing about a nod from both.

"Now, we're going to have a spar under some _very_ interesting weather conditions." he added with a grin that easily countered the one Anko wore a few moments ago, one that gave both very good reasons to worry.

And indeed they had. Jiraya led them both out of the cave while he left a shadow clone to work on something else. He guided them towards a steaming pool of water, no more than fifteen feet in diameter.

"This is the new sparring ground" he pointed at the pool "You two will take turns at fighting me with everything you have. I will not hold back a bit against you, however I won't go for killing blows immediately." Jiraya explained in a serious tone. "We have a week here and I intend to make the best of it." he added as he walked over to the center of the pool "Naruto, you go first, and don't use Radiance. While powerful, I want you to improve your other skills as well"

"Hai sensei" Naruto replied as he walked over Jiraya, who only quirked an eyebrow at the respectful title. Naruto on the other hand wondered just how Jiraya walked on the near boiling surface of the pool without burning his feet. He decided to constantly channel his chakra to his feet, creating a small protective cushion that while allowing him to walk, also protected his feet from the hear

"You learn fast. Now come at me with all you've got" he shouted at him, and Naruto obliged. On the sides, Anko was sitting down and watching them both very carefully, picking apart every move, and trying to adapt whatever she could. Jiraya was right, and if she wanted to this, she would have to take it very seriously.

Naruto summoned a single clone and sent him out of the ring, afterward summoning another two who immediately attacked, while the original stayed behind to study the results. As the two clones moved near for a direct attack, Jiraya used a kunai to slash at them with a grace he never would have thought he had. Naruto mentally reminded himself _never_ to underestimate his enemies for their appearance or age. The Kage were usually among the oldest of their village and they were by default the most powerful. He frowned at the fact that Jiraya left no opening, at least none usable to him.

"Wise move. Study your enemies from the sides, you never know when you might find a weakness that way" Jiraya advised as he went through the seals for a jutsu. Naruto identified the last handseal as a tiger seal, meaning that it would most likely be a fire jutsu.

_'Okay, let's see what he has in store.'_

"**Fire Release :Dragon's Burning Breath!" **Jiraya shouted as he exhaled a long and continuous river of fire at Naruto. Naruto stood silent for a moment, before moving his hands quickly to a seal, while internally thinking '**Water Release: Water Encampment Wall'.** The large cylindrical barrier of water immediately rose to block the fire attack.

"You do know of that jutsu's weakness?" Jiraya asked while throwing another breath of fire at the fading wall. The wall collapsed, leaving behind what seemed to be a charred corpse. Seemed being the key word. Jiraya smirked at the little bit of on the post tactics, correctly guessing that he created a shadow clone outside the barrier, and used substitution to replace himself with the clone. The only question was, where did the boy hide? The surface of the pond was clear, and the air as well... _'no way...' _he thought, utterly surprised that the boy would actually go for move as risky as submerging himself in near-boiling water just to make sure he got the element of surprise. And indeed he did, nearly catching Jiraya off-guard, though the old man had to admit that it was only his years of experience and honed instincts that saved him from being hit by the large flowing sword as it threatened to slash him from groin upwards. Immediately moving to the side, he sent a hail of kunai at Naruto who immediately blocked each attack with the sword all the while charging at him.  
Jiraya took the moment to notice that Naruto's skin wasn't cooked in the water. '_So he figured out how to shield his body from harm that way, and all in the midst of battle. And to think they actually called him the dead-last in the academy. Damn, if he had been trained properly like those clan brats, he __would have easily beaten Itachi's record for becoming an ANBU captain by now._'

Naruto silently charged at him, the two-handed sword moving at great speed aimed towards the sannin's neck. Jiraya easily dodged the blow, slipping a hit to the boy's gut with his knee. Naruto winced at the pain, but didn't stop or drop. He felt worse before.

"Now that the introductions are over, care to play for keeps?"Jiraya asked, while Naruto nodded in response, raising one of his hands to his chest.

Naruto molded his chakra carefully, preparing to trigger the deactivation of every suppression seal on his body. Weights, chakra blockers, chakra suppressors, the works. A small crack of the neck was all that was felt, however Jiraya knew better. Naruto learned at an early age how to hide his own chakra, and something told him that he could actually have a little challenge now. And he could finally have a good fight, something he didn't have since that time a few years ago when he fought against a team of five nuke-nin...

"Ready you old lecher?" Naruto asked with a grin as he threw Quicksilver to his clone on the side and placed his hand over his heart.

"What are you planning now gaki?" Jiraya whispered to himself as a blade appeared in the boy's hands that made his eyes widen. The Song of the Wind, a weapon legendary among swordsmen, said to have been forged for the founder of Whirlpool, and the Uzumaki family, and that only one of their own blood could draw it from it's sheath. Unlike many of the newer swords that relied on chakra or various other enhancements to give them strength, the Song was truly unique. It was a perfect sword seemingly weak and frail but sharp enough to cut nearly anything unaided. The metal it was forged from was a strange alloy whose composition was never recorded, but was hard enough to survive any blow to it. The Song of the Wind was one of a kind, and probably one of the world's scariest weapons... and it was now in the hands of Naruto, who apparently understood it's strength very well, if the grin he was giving him was any indication. While Naruto lacked a style, his insane reflexes built by his Radiance training and great speed made for a great combination... one he would be challenged to beat.

"Damn..." he spoke in a low tone as he prepared for the fight.

"You asked for this sensei" he spoke in a tone void of all emotion as he drew the blade with his right hand, keeping it at eye level

The tides had turned yet again.

Anko watched with a mixture of pride and fear. Pride for her boyfriend's skill and ingenuity, and fear that he was going to get hurt. The training was very much reminiscent of what Orochimaru had her do when she was his apprentice. However, she never was strong enough to give her sensei a run for his money, and unless she was gravely mistaken, Naruto was about to do just that. With interest.

Jiraya spent the next fifteen minutes dodging a veritable hurricane of blows. Naruto wasn't only using the blade, bu the scabbard as well, adding strong swipes to the combination. He had more shallow cuts and bruises than he cared to count, and while Naruto couldn't land a single blow fully, the small cuts still bled and weakened him... and his kunai did little to stop them. He wasn't given the time to use jutsu, and all those he knew without using any handseals actually took time he didn't have to execute. Naruto was no longer playing around, all the restraints he placed on himself were removed. '_If this is his level of strength now_' he thought as he dodged a blow aimed for his neck, only to be swept by another to his leg. Jiraya landed on his hands, quickly moving to a handstand and dropping back on his feet a few meters away '_I'm seriously scared to think how powerful he would be when fully trained. With that blade guided by his speed, I'm no longer his superior in close quarters. However, as deadly as he is, there are still openings I could use, not to mention the Sage mode. He lacks a fixed style but his on-the-spot adaptability means he'd actually do better without one. That Dance of Ruin he showed was noting more than a collection of special attacks following his normal speedy swipes... hmmm. I know of a style that would fit perfectly into his usual way of fighting. Now if I could only remember __how it went....wait a sec, he's not using his Radiance now, nor is he using jutsu, and if he can fight that well on instinct alone. What have I unleashed?_'

At the same time Naruto was experiencing something strange, and rather unfamiliar to him. During several moments in the fight, he felt a rather strange sensation, but as soon as he tried to focus on it, it was gone. The strange and comforting feeling of emptiness, of thoughtlessness, engulfed his mind in short moments during the fight. He remembered reading something on the subject a while ago in one of the scrolls on meditation, that the pinnacle of meditation was a state of empty mind, as the scroll called it, when the brain actually didn't think, and only the instincts remained to guide the body without the mind sapping it's strength. Time seemed to have slowed down in those short moments, only to immediately speed back up.

The feeling of the sword in his hand was majestic. The blade almost had no weight, and every move he made felt _natural_, as if he _knew_ what he was doing. If he was being honest, he was mostly swinging the sword around, without any style, and he had a sinking feeling that any proper swordsman would be able to block or break his moves.... if he could keep up with the speed.

Anko gaped at the fight in front of her. This was no longer a simple spar, but a real battle, and she understood that should she interrupt them, one of them could easily die. Absentmindedly gripping the necklace Naruto gave her, she inwardly muttered "Kick his ass Naruto"

The final clash finally came. Both were tired, and Naruto's chakra was at a low from keeping his speed up. Jiraya on the other hand was physically tired, but cold deal with it as his chakra reserves were still nearly full, having only used a pair of fire jutsu and substitution a time or two, while Naruto was draining his reserves the entire time

"Not bad gaki, but you still lose. Now tell me why you didn't use any jutsu from your arsenal?"

Naruto smiled at the question.

"So you figured it out. Honestly, I was to busy trying to find out what was this strange sensation I felt in my head during the fight" Naruto said in a calm tone.

"Oh?" Jiraya asked in a semi-mocking tone while quirking an eyebrow

"Empty mind" Naruto shortly stated, bringing another shock to the sannin.

"Well, that's a surprise. You were deadly here, however here are the bad sides. First, your style of fighting so far focused purely on fighting a single opponent without any area attacks to strike multiple ones or a viable defense against multiple foes. Should you be faced by one strong enemy, I have little doubt you could outspeed them... however, two or more and you're toast." Jiraya explained to the young chunin "We'll have to work on that, and then there's the Rasengan, along with a few more choice moves and seals. Also, that Chakra Artofyours _could_ be upgraded a bit_" _Jiraya thought out loud, while Naruto was getting slightly sullen. The old sage was right, yet again."Don't get too down gaki, I have a few ideas how to fix those problems up. Your Shadow Clones will be working overtime. Now get" Jiraya shooed him as he popped a small red food pill into his mouth "Anko, you're next"

_(09:00, Konohagakure, Various locations)_

Kakashi sighed once more as his finger crossed the surface of the Memorial Stone.

_'Your son is something else sensei... just like you were' _he quietly mused, as a single tear came down his face. His fingers went over the names of his teammates and sensei._ Obito...Rin._ He sighed for the umpteenth time, idly remarking that he did that too much these days. It would do no good if he were to abandon the rest of his team, as Sasuke and Sakura could use some more training. He had the distinct feeling that the shit was about to hit the fan, and he wanted both him and his students to be ready.

A loud cursing was heard from the main and only inhabited building of the mostly empty Uchiha district. Inside his room, Sasuke Uchiha was reading one of his families scrolls, a history scroll more accurately. After the recent troubles, he thought it would be wise to take a look at his clan's records, hoping to find some usable information. Mostly he found nothing of use, a decade's worth of accounting, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other nonsense. That is, until he found an ornate, ancient scroll hidden behind a fake wall in the archives, which turned out to be the journal of Uchiha Madara, the founder of the Uchiha clan and co-founder of Konohagakure. And what he read certainly wasn't good. Oh no, it wasn't good at all....

_(12:00 Border Valley)_

Naruto had watched the battle between Anko and Jiraya with great curiosity. Anko was a far better fighter than he gave her credit for. The Snake style, apparently pioneered by Orochimaru was in it's essence brilliant. It relied on improved speed and flexibility to bait the enemy into an opening that didn't even exist, and then strike fast and hard, aiming for almost any disabling pressure points and nerve clusters on the body. Add to that the constant appearance of snakes out of every opening of her clothes, and Jiraya actually had problems fighting her normally. He did however neutralize most of the poisons he was injected with... Jiraya had made preparations for fighting Orochimaru, and apparently neutralizing poison by using chakra was one of them. He was beginning to fully appreciate the genius that was the perverted sage. The sheer knowledge and intellect revealed in very few moments when Jiraya drops his jokes and giggling to face an opponent seriously. Neither Anko nor him could have really won against him, and for all the boasting, he wasn't even using half his strength... however his speed was greatly challenged. Of that he was sure.

It would be several hours later that the three of them fully recovered from the spars, and Jiraya finally finished the schedule for their training, not only for the remaining six days, but for the duration of the entire trip and likely afterward. Taking one final look at the two scrolls he made, he passed them to Anko and Naruto, both of them busy with a piece of roast boar meat.

"These are your schedules for training from now on. We'll use the last hours of jutsu training to learn new skills or improve on old ones."

Naruto carefully eyed the piece of formerly rolled up paper in front of him in abject horror. Combined physical and chakra training along with kenjutsu for six hours, followed by a short brake to eat and rest, and after that a second battery of physical training and jutsu training after that. If Anko's expression was any indication, her schedule wasn't any better...

Late that night Naruto sneaked out of the cave, and with a small light once more began reading the scroll his mother had left behind with the sword.

_'My dear son_

_The sword you hold in your hands is the Song of the Wind, the last remaining legacy of the Whirlpool. I managed to save the sword when we escaped the invading forces years ago, and as it has been for five generations, now the sword goes to you. Know this, unlike many of the blades you will encountered, the Song has no special abilities apart from it's masterwork craftsmanship. It's edge will never dull or brake, and it can hold off pretty much anything in combat, and it can cut anything, if the wielder is strong enough to do so. As you are reading this scroll, the Song has accepted you and will dance and sing to your instincts in battle, guided by your will. It is too headstrong to be guided by any style, other than the one that comes naturally. Carry it proudly my son, and my it protect those precious to you as it did for me._

_Kushina Uzumaki, you loving mother.'_

He silently resealed the scroll and removed another one, this one containing a series of three extremely complex arrays.

"Now let's see how you made it father" he muttered as he summoned a number of clones to keep watch. His eyes squinted in the limited light as he finished breaking down the first array... and it only took him the better part of four hours to figure out most of it. It's not like he really needed the night's sleep anyway, he knew full well that he could go 48 hours without any consequences.

The first was a highly complicated version of a beacon of sorts, one that could apparently reach a person almost regardless of the distance. And it was bound directly to Namikaze blood, making it impossible for anyone not of the family to use the array. '_Clever bastard_' he silently mused while a wide grin covered his face. There was still a long time before dawn.

Unknown to him, neither Jiraya nor Anko could sleep. Jiraya was thinking of the past, the Second Shinobi War, and his last visit to Whirlpool. He had contacts there, but shinobi were anything but popular among their people, and their samurai force was not to be underestimated. But that's not the only thing he was worried about. Why was Tsunade going there? What could have possibly possessed her to go so far north into hostile territory? His spy network drew a blank on the subject, figuring her destination only when she was nearly halfway there. Then there were the unsettling rumors about a monster that roamed the countryside. Though he gave little credence to such rumors, it was wise to keep an open mind about such things...

Anko quietly got up and walked out, settled quietly into a blanket and watched Naruto studying. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she had a very bad feeling about this mission.

Tomorrow noon found a downright exhausted Naruto barely holding onto Quicksilver as he dropped on the ground next to the campfire. Next to him was an equally tired Anko, who merely sighed and laid her head in is lap, while Naruto's clones prepared food. Jiraya wasn't in a much better condition either. While his clones guided Naruto and Anko, he was training his speed and working on a few moves as well.

"Lunch's ready!" One of the three cook-clones shouted and began pouring the stew into small bowls before passing them around to the exhausted trio.

"So, where do we stand sensei?" Naruto asked the question that troubled him for a while now, all the while stroking Anko's hair.

"Yeah Jiraya-sama, I'd like to know that too" Anko added. Jiraya stopped eating for a moment, thinking out what to tell them.

"Honestly? Naruto, you're about low jounin in just about everything apart from your talent in seals, your chakra capacity, and your stamina. Those three are kage level easily. And your skill with the Chakra Art gave your knowledge on seals a whole new avenue of use... one you've only scratched" Naruto gave a small smile, which was instantly sunk "But don't get cocky, you're still a weak rookie compared to some of the people you will likely encounter. And your genjutsu skills are about mid genin level. We'll have to work on those." ''

"Anko, you are about mid jounin level in taijutsu and ninjutsu. ANBU class tracking and poison skills along with chunin level genjutsu skills. Your stamina is decent, high chunin, speed jounin easily. Strength... well, you're about as strong as he is without chakra enhancements. You lack any really strong attacks, but you mostly make up for them with your other skills. Apart from helping you develop new jutsu or teaching you some of the one I knew, there's little I can do for you I'm afraid"

"Don't worry" Naruto added, giving her a kiss as well "There's still a lot to learn that could help, and I'll be there to help as well." he reassured her... not that she really needed. Anko knew her level of skill pretty well, but it was always good to get a second opinion. She still smiled at the offer, knowing that even if she told him not to he'd still be there for her, something she also didn't mind at all.

The trio rested for the hour, preparing for the next part of the day's training, Naruto being very eager to find out just what Jiraya had in store for him and Anko.

"Get up people, time for training." Jiraya calmly called as he walked out of the cave. An unseen smile covered his lips. He was really curious how long it would take the brat to learn it.

_(Four days later, Konoha, Hokage's Office)_

Hiruzen Sarutobi carefully looked at the final draft of the treaty that he and the council put together. He had to admit that he liked it very much, and apart for the fact that they'd lose a part of their trade profit, Suna wouldn't lose much. But Konoha would gain quite a lot. He was well aware of the expenditures Konoha had, especially when it came to hard to manufacture resources such as glass... and sitting on the Elemental Countries' biggest supply of sand, Wind country and by extension Sunagakure was the best at making it. Same rate of export for free to Konoha for a full year, and afterward trading glass at a reduced price.. Combined with a number of wind jutsu that could have easily been acquired another way, it gave both sides a plausible and very much appeasing way of settling the conflict without further loses (_AN: Seriously, people underestimate the value of such strategic resources... everything from beakers to windows is made from it, and having a years trade supply for free is no joke. :P_)

Now, all he had to do was persuade the two Daimyos that it is the best option... and compared to military retaliation for the invasion, it was a godsend. He was still angered by Orochimaru's machinations, and the fact that he played them by taking over the position of Kazekage, and further manipulated the Wind daimyo into reducing the financial support for Suna. After that guiding the whole thing into war wasn't hard. The council at first remained their pig-headed self, but after Shikaku and Shibi pointed out that if someone manipulated another village to attack them in order to weaken both, they were somewhat more willing to cooperate. Tiredly rubbing his temples, Sarutobi summoned a pair of clones to do the paperwork and sat down to read his favorite piece of literature.

_(End of the week, Northern borderlands of the Fire Country)_

"From this point onward, don't drop your guard regardless of what happens." Jiraya ordered"We are entering hostile territory. From here on we're going under code names unless we're in a secure location. I'll be Toad, Naruto's Fox, and Anko is Snake. Understood?"

"Hai" came the simultaneous reply of the other two. The vast plain that stretched between the borders with Oto and Iwa, was before them. Covered with light forests and crisscrossed by rivers, the Borderlands were a lawless place that rarely saw the institution of government... and considering the vast population of a couple of hundred scattered in isolated homesteads and small villages , it wasn't really needed. Stopping here for any period of time wasn't an option, as the region was also frequently visited by Iwa mining teams escorted by full squads of shinobi. They would have to move fast, for the cover of snow wouldn't last long.

* * *

**Author's notes: **

On the fight between Naruto and Jiraya.

While very powerful, Jiraya's natural element is ninjutsu and fuinjutsu along with large-scale combat and taijutsu. However, against a ridiculously fast opponent with a sword he is at a disadvantage (A katana has greater reach than a hand or a kunai, and Naruto is faster than Jiraya thanks to his chakra enhanced muscles, along with great physical speed. As such even a parried blow can deal damage.)(Second note, in my story, Naruto is a speed demon as well as a stamina freak. Training and chakra enhancements do wonders. Deal with it ;P)

Oh, and here's a file on Naruto. Just so you get a picture of his skills and strengths.

**Name: **Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze

**Age: **14

**Height:** 1.80 meters

**Weight: **85 kg

**Eye color: **sapphireblue

**Hair color: **blond

**Distinguishing marks: **Apart from a preference for long coats and seal tattoos covering a portion of his body, three whisker marks on each cheek (_Thanks to Tristan76 for reminding me of the whisker marks... I actually forgot, go figure :P_)

**Rank and Allegiance: **Chunin of Konoha

**Threat Level: **Elite Jounin normally, High chunin if caught unprepared, Kage if given sufficient time to prepare

**Unique Possessions:** Swords Quicksilver and Song of the Wind, one Hiraishin kunai, Codex of Seals. Breaker rod.

**Strengths: **Radiance,Tactics, Fuinjutsu, Kenjutsu, Trap setting, Ninjutsu. Physical speed, strength and stamina. Massive chakra capacity. Basic field medic knowledge of medicine

**Weaknesses: **Genjutsu, Chakra Control,

**Styles Known: **Radiance(any) Dance of Ruin (Quicksilver), Song of the Wind (Song of the Wind)(Not a real style), Chakra Art (unarmed, Seals).

**Jutsu Arsenal: **Earth Release : Swamp of the Underworld, Earth Release : Underground Fish Projection, Fire Release: Phoenix Fire, Lightning Release: Shocking Paralysis,Water Release: Water Encampment Wall, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Wind Release : Blade of Wind, Chakra Art, , Sage Art : Needle Jizo, Transparent Escape, Sealing Art : Five Elements Seal, Radiance : Compression, Radiance : Overflow, Radiance : Storm Sphere, Secret Art : Triune Hunters, Shadow Clone, Substitution, Henge, Shunshin.

Edited:

One piece of important news: I'm adding a pool to my profile as I can't decide which would be a second story I would write. I have posted the descriptions at the bottom of my profile, so please read and vote. The voting will go on until the 1st of november, and the first chapter will most likely be up by the tenth.


	15. Ruins of Whirlpool : Red over Black

**Author's Ramblings: ** And this is where the things get interesting. I won't be revealing anything else apart from the fact that you should be reading carefully for hints.

Also, I'd like to thank my faithful readers for the 400+ reviews bagged so far. Also, the story is now well over 100k words, which is also a success.

In short, thanks everyone

A reminder to you all: I've posted the choices for my next story to your voting as I can't decide which one to write. Please vote, the pool is in my profile page, and the explanations are right beneath it

As a final note, I've used something of a jutsu here on Anko. Before you read it, here are a few things I want to point out. First, snakes don't see well in the dark, true, but these are summon snakes. Snakes also aren't supposed to be able to shed their skin within five seconds, right? I'm going for mild infrared vision with this (Yes, snakes use their tongues for this. This is fanfiction, I'm applying my _own_ biology here. I mostly likd the idea how it worked)

Now, on with the story.

Oh, and here's a small reminder

'_Italic, single comma_' – thoughts or radio conversations

"**Bold**" - Bijuu, summons, jutsu pronouncing in combat

_**'Italic, bold' – **_Bijuu, summon thoughts (They don't use radio... go figure)

"Normal" - normal speech.

* * *

_Chapter 15 : Ruins of Whirlpool : Prelude to the Battle_

"How far are we from the second border Toad?" came the monotone masculine voice over the radio

'_Twenty five kilometers due north._' came the reply '_We'll be there by midnight, and that's when we'll slip into Whirlpool... undetected preferably. We need to reach the trading post at Karakis which is an hour further. One of my contacts is there, and he should be able to help us locate Tsunade _' Jiraya added. It had been ten hours since they started running before the crack of dawn, and there were six more hours to go. The pace he had set was brutal and exhausting, however, it helped with their training, and he himself was used to such traveling.

Naruto cleared his mind of his thoughts, opting instead to focus only on his surroundings. The snow covered lowlands were beautiful, no doubt, but he wasn't looking with his eyes. The picture Radiance painted was something else indeed. The echo of the surface of the world around him, combined with the soft glow of life. It was truly a unique perspective on the world around him. And much to his pleasure, the lands were void of any human presence, no matter how good they were, there were very, _very_ few who could fool him. He still couldn't shake the sense that he was being watched all the time... and wondered whether someone was truly watching him or if it was his paranoia coming to bite him in the behind.

Time flew by quickly as they moved, all but invisible in the snow with their features covered. The weather had improved, if only slightly, as the snow stopped falling and the skies cleared, so when night fell, the starts and moon gave just enough light for them to move at half speed. Anko noted when they reached the border that Jiraya had already taken the loss of speed into account, and that he _chose_ to cross the pass that represented the border by night.

_'Snake, Fox, I see a light in the distance. That is the Iwa border camp. Hide your chakra and move to the left wall, twenty meters up. We'll walk right over them, keep close, as of this moment until we leave the pass we are on radio silence' _Anko heard Jiraya's whispered orders over the radio, and turned off her connection as soon as she spotted the camp. Soon, both signatures faded away, and she decided to rely on the tracking skills her hated sensei taught her. Channeling a bit of chakra to her eyes while dropping her right hand into a hand seal, a small snake popped out from her coat, easily coiling itself like a necklace around her neck. Anko's eyes changed as well, turning from their normal brown color to a slitted yellow. She smirked as the darkness turned just a bit clearer, and she could easily tell the heat silhouettes of her two companions in the darkness as they moved up the pass wall.

At the same time in the camp, a trio of guards were slacking off and playing cards

"Hey Ganji? I'll take one" asked the first one of them.

"Yeah? Two for me" answered the other

"What do you think they're digging in those mines? Raise by fifty ryo"

"Damn me if I know. Following" Ganji responded

"I've heard stories about some ruins being there" the third one decided to chip in "I've seen them hauling some old chests with scrolls inside them, along with tons of gold bars. Weird, I tell ya"

"Kami knows what the Tsuchikage wants with those scrolls, they're full of gibberish from what I saw"

Little did the three ninja know that three people were watching and reading their lips, noting the information away for later.

The team moved with great stealth over the camp, maintaining a low, yet constant speed until they were out of hearing range. Jiraya knew well that the two could easily see in the dark, so he waited until they were at a safe distance before giving them a few hand signs, which they both interpreted as an all-clear for their radios. Naruto snaked a hand through his hood, and right behind the ivory white mask, flipping the near invisible earpiece back on.

_'Fox, Snake do you copy?'_

_'Snake here, reading you loud and clear'_

"Fox here, over_" _Naruto quickly replied to the hail (_AN: yes, believe it or not, it's actually called a hail_)

_'We're in the clear, speed up a bit and as soon as we're out of the pass, unless something comes up we can go back to normal traveling. Also, Snake? Report back on the news. Ape might want to know'_

Naruto made a short smile on the name he used for what could only be Sarutobi. ANBU animal names were very useful as they gave very little identity to their bearers. Although he was pretty sure that the names Snake and Fox were hardly as popular as some of the other... still, he'd set all such thoughts aside, as they now finally reached the edge of the pass.

_'Fox?' _Jiraya asked, demanding the status of the surrounding area

"We're in the clear. One hundred and fifty meters in all directions" Naruto quietly responded.

_'Alright, move out. We have ground to cover, and eight hours till dawn'_

It would be only four hours before they reached the first signs of civilization, a small town on a riverbank surrounded by a wooden palisade. Karakis was a surprisingly small place, two dozen buildings huddled together around a road that led to a gated bridge. There were still a kilometer away from the hamlet and covered by sparse woods when they stopped. Jiraya was the first to remove both cloak and mask.

"Alright, from here on, we travel without the cover of masks" he calmly stated "We need to enter a few inhabited areas, and these disguises will attract even more attention than going in like this. But, that doesn't mean we won't use some simpler ones" with that said he pulled out a small scroll and unsealed a large bag from it. Rummaging through he pulled out various articles closely related to theater. Various clothes, makeup, ribbons and jewelry, all real to Naruto's surprise.

"Come on. Here's an act you won't mind playing. Naruto, Anko, you are two newlyweds who are currently traveling with their uncle to Nadere. Pick out appropriate clothes ad choose names. Something that doesn't attract attention" he explained as he pulled out a pair of scissors and began cutting his long hair to a very short length before pulling out a small tube. Naruto watched with interest as the man pulled out a small bucket and used a quick water jutsu to gather some water in it before he poured a small amount of the thick black substance into the water. He gave it a few seconds to dissolve completely before applying the past to his hair and his eyebrows. And much to Naruto's surprise, the hair quickly started turning from white to grayish, with parts being completely black for show. Anko wasn't in the least surprised, being far better aware of such methods to conceal ones identity. He quickly proceeded to apply a powdery substance over the facial markings he had on his cheeks, completely hiding them from sight. As a final touch, he used a pair of colored lenses to give himself brown eyes instead of the normal black. A few more finishing touches, a scar here and there and it was nearly impossible to directly recognize the face of the Toad Sage.

"As you've probably noticed, there are times you can't use henge or any other jutsu for that matter. At times you'll have to go in like this, wearing actual makeup, a disguise and a false identity" Jiraya calmly explained to Naruto "Now, I want you to try and create your own". Now that was something he could work with. With a wide grin and all of his pranking creativity behind him, he turned to the clothes in front of him. He knew that he lacked the experience that Jiraya had, but some things could be easily made up by the application of the right skill, namely his personal favorite, the Shadow Clone jutsu. Immediately summoning one, he got on the job, using a simple henge to shape the 'person' he wanted to become physically, making slight adjustments every few seconds. When he was finally pleased, he summoned another with the instructions to try and replicate the look. The clone gathered some water again, using a different color, red this time, to dye his hair, carefully sliding small amounts on the other parts of facial hair. The same powdery substance covered his whisker marks now, and a simple addition of a very obvious, but false scar over his right cheek made it distinctive enough. That combined with a tanning cream used over most of his body produced interesting results.

Jiraya was truly impressed by the boy. He did ask a lot of questions about the tools presented to him, from what some of them did, to asking if a certain thing was at his disposal. It wasn't the work of a professional, sure, but he had talent for that as well. He had carefully picked a long-sleeved traveling coat, nothing too fancy, but durable. Now, he had free-falling short red hair, green eyes, a skin of a darker hue, a scar over his left cheek, and a simple gray traveling coat over normal clothes. The final touch, even if invisible were his chakra suppression seals, which made him little better than a civilian. In other words, he was completely undetectable

"Kazaki Miyohu, former guard at your service" Naruto responded in a slightly different voice

Anko had made similar choices, letting her hair fall down freely, but going against dying it, choosing a small bow to add to her hair, a long sleeved dress with an overcoat to go with it and elegant boots to cover her feet.

"Kazaki Youmei, loving wife of Miyohu" Anko stated with a formal bow and a shy voice.

Naruto stood impressed and dazzled. Anko now had a simple beauty, like a wildflower that had just bloomed. He also wondered where the hell did the comparison come from, as he certainly wasn't feeling poetic. He sneaked over to her ear and whispered

"You're really beautiful, you know that my love?"

Anko smiled and kissed his cheek lightly, and whispered back "I know"

Their kiss-fest was interrupted by a clap of hands, which quickly turned into an applause.

"Nicely done, Youmei, Miyohu" Jiraya commended "Just so you remember, I am Kazaki Takani, Miyohu's uncle and traveling herbalist. We are moving north to Nadere in search of better opportunities at life. Now, remember, act like civilians and hie your hitai-ate " he ordered, then stopped for a moment, rummaging through his scroll case and picking out one particular scroll "Catch" he threw the scroll at Naruto "It's a normal katana, one you can use without worries of revealing yourself." he explained.

"I have a few kunai and senbon hidden in the sleeves, along with a few vials of poison well hidden in the clothes" Anko added after finishing the modifications to her clothes. Naruto strapped the blade to his waist, and a chuckle escaped his lips. He looked like one of those wandering samurai, or ronin. A rather entertaining notion, he had to admit.

**(_AN: From this point onward, until you are informed otherwise, Naruto, Anko and Jiraya will be going by their false identities, which means a bit of unusual behavior for them_)**

"Shall we Youmei-hime?" Miyohu asked in a kind, loving voice, though very little of it was faked.

"Hai" Youmei responded as the two began walking towards the trading post, quickly followed by the elder Takani. An untrained observer would only spot a trio of tired travelers slowly inching along to the north. And that is exactly what the guards at the palisade gates spotted. Sensing no danger from them they gave the three a short nod as they passed through the gates unopposed.

Miyohu was pleasantly surprised that the small town had cobbled streets, and was actually a very pleasant place, even if there were hints of past scars. The homes and small shops were built in a style very similar to that of Konoha. They walked in relative silence to the only inn in town.

"The Copper Drake?" Youmei stated curiously.

"Hai, this is where we'll be staying lovebirds" Takani commented, to which the two youths forced slight blushes, not much, but just enough to be natural

'_The gaki's a natural at acting... though you'd have to be to survive in his shoes..._' Takani somberly, but proudly thought of his student/nephew as they entered the inn.

"Hello, and welcome to the Copper Dragon" greeted a rather exhausted voice of a young man. "Would you like a room?" he asked in an almost hopeful voice

"Yeah. Two rooms please" Takani asked and was given a pair of keys, each apparently for a room

"First floor, second last and last room from the stairs. Names?" the young man asked again, this time calmer, offering the guest-book to sign themselves in. They wrote down the false names without a second's thought, and proceeded to check their rooms, only to hear a shout "And careful with that sword!"

The rooms were simple, as good as can be expected of a small town in the middle of nowhere. A pair of futon in each room, a window, and a shared bathroom between the two rooms. It was no great luxury but just enough for a comfortable stay. Youmei and Miyohu were left alone in their room by Takani, much to the couple's pleasure.

"You know, we do have a lot of free time before we have to go..." Miyohu whispered in a husky voice as he snaked his arms around Youmei's shoulders in a warm hug, kissing her neck. He wanted her very much, but would willingly wait as long as she wanted. He loved her too much to hurt her.

"Hold your horses loverboy" Youmei whispered back as she turned his head to kiss him on the lips, and whispered "Fun now, but the full deal when we go back home, okay? I don't want to risk someone finding us out now... there are too many enemies here" she assured him while turning around an laying a deep kiss on his mouth. Miyohi softly pulled her down onto his lap as he sat against the wall. Youmei merely cuddled into his form, her body finding great comfort in his warmth.

Next door, Takani smiled at hearing their words. He would _never _admit it, but he envied the boy. He also idly mused about passing some of his work to him for, ehm... educational purposes. And with a quick prayer for their health to whatever gods choose to listen, he returned to his work, going through a long scroll covered in thick, but neat writing.

_(16:00, Konoha, Unknown location)_

Danzo sighed in annoyance. Things weren't going according to plan, that much he knew. Naruto Uzumaki, no, _Namikaze_, had slipped from his fingers and had claimed both his name and legacy and was being trained by Jiraya, and much to his irritation bringing back Tsunade to be the next Hokage. His entire plan for the future was ruined.

However....

Danzo also wasn't a fool. One does not survive on the battlefield for as long as he did without learning a great deal about strategy and patience, something he had in abundance. He always preferred to pull the strings from the shadows. In a small stone office, he was sitting before a large desk covered by a map of the elemental countries, with several large, thick folders over them. His focus was now placed over a small territory to the north, stuck in between Cloud and Stone. With a small smirk he pulled out a pair of blank scrolls, wrote a short letter on each and raised them. From the shadows, two agents of his ROOT stepped forward

"Make sure that these are delivered safely to the Raikage and the Tsuchikage" he commanded in his usual quiet, flat tone

"Hai, Danzo-sama" the two shortly replied.

"And so it begins." he gave of a dark chuckle, oblivious to a third shadow that sneaked out of his headquarters.

_(17:30, ANBU headquarters, I&T division)_

"So these are the two?" Ibiki asked. Yugao Uzuki shortly nodded as they both watched the two ROOT ninja who were now bound, blindfolded and gagged inside their own prison cells, stripped of most of their clothes and all weapons and/or tools. The finely trained experts of Konoha's Interrogation and Torture division were good at what they did... The two prisoners stood very little chance, and the letters they gave already implicated both them and Danzo in what could only be called treason.

"Very well. Inform the hokage of our your catch, and I'll personally report as soon as they spill their guts" _'Sigh, for once, I wish Anko was here... then I could easily wrap this up in an hour and go home.'_

Ibiki was indeed tired. During the past few days, a number of prisoners were brought to him, and out of them, five were from ROOT, all sent on long-term missions to Kami-knows-where... not really, he used genjutsu to go through three of them so far and found out where they were supposed to be going, but there was something that worried him. He had seen the features of all there somewhere, but he couldn't place them. It wasn't the Bingo books, he was sure as it was the first place he checked. Did he work with them at some point? No, they were too young, the oldest was fifteen years old. Their bodies carried many scars one such as he would easily, and accurately connect to torture. They were brainwashed into perfect little soldiers. He wanted to puke at the idea. He made copies of all the seals that were placed on their bodies for further study... Ibiki Morino had an idea, one he wanted to pursue very much, one he knew the Hokage wouldn't give much support for unless his arguments were rock solid. Grumbling once more, he walked over to his office and the ever growing stack of papers on his desk. Just how the hell did the Hokage deal with the paperwork?!

_(17:45, Konoha, Sarutobi estate)_

Konohamaru loved his family. He was always certain of that. Asuma, his chain-smoking uncle, Hiruzen, his perverted grandfather and Aiko, his grandmother. Even his late parents, the people he never really met. He loved them all, and they loved him in turn.

The dinner they sat down to was a downright _loud_ event, with Konohamaru retelling the events of the past few days at the academy, and even the new pranks he pulled, something that Aiko vehemently opposed publicly, but here, in the safety of their home, she laughed very much like her husband and son.

_'He is becoming very much like Naruto in certain aspects.' _Sarutobi mused as he pulled a smoke from his pipe _'Both good and bad' _he gingerly added to his thoughts

"Ne jiji? I was wondering if you could help me with my bojutsu tomorrow?" Konohamaru asked in a quiet tone, very much different from the usual boastful voice he used. Asuma was curious too, as the boy had been mostly training on his own "From what I read, bojutsu has been a family tradition since your great grandfather, and my skills stink." the elder Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow at his request

"And why do you want to learn it?" Hiruzen asked, almost expecting the usual I-wanna-be-Hokage answer, yet remembering that he had changed, it could be anything.

"I want to protect this place like you grandfather. Hokage or not, I still want to protect it" Konohamaru answered in a low, but determined tone, bringing a smile to the other three.

"I'll be glad to show you grandson" Hiruzen replied in a warm tone, as Asuma ruffled the boy's hair. Predictably enough, the boy scowled

"Stop that! It's embarrassing!" he shouted

"And why else do you think I do it, Ko?" Asuma added, further teasing the boy, much to the elder couple's entertainment. The laughing went on for an hour more as the four of them chatted, and Asuma retold some of his more.... entertaining missions, much to Konohamaru's pleasure

Hiruzen smiled tiredly at the sight of the remnants of his family. The Sarutobi clan once counted three dozen members, sadly, all but the four of them died during the Third Shinobi War and the Kyuubi attack. He was deeply gladdened that his grandson had began taking matters seriously.

_(21:00, Karakis, The Copper Dragon Inn)_

Night had long fallen over the small trading post, it's stores closed and the few villagers safe inside their homes. Apart from a small riverside tavern, all life had died down. Within the walls of the inn, Takani watched the two sleeping, Miyohu sitting propped up against the wall with Youmei in his lap, unconsciously stroking her purple hair. A small grin crossed his face. He would kill him for what he was going to do, but it was too much of a chance to waste. Putting his thoughts to the side, he quietly coughed, pleased by the barely visible twitch of the two bodies that informed him that the two were wide awake, and waiting.

"It's time" Takani quietly informed them, and within moments, the two bodies belonging to Miyohu and Youmei untangled themselves, and got up, both perfectly ready. To his well trained eyes, it was obvious that the two weren't civilians, and any attempt at their lives that night would have ended... painfully at best. They silently nodded and schooled their features into those of their masks, and soon enough, a young couple walked out of the room, followed by their old uncle.

Miyohu once more checked all the hidden weapons on his body, a full set of senbon needles concealed in his sleeve, a number of shuriken in the coat, and of course the katana on his side. And finally the sealing array which kept his chakra in check, ready to be released within a moment's notice. He idly noted that Youmei and Takani did the same as him before they walked into the tavern, as inconspicuous as the next group. Takani went to the bar, and after a short word with the bartender the trio moved to one of the tables in the back, well shielded from the others by the nearby bar. They sat in relative silence, each enjoying their own drinks and a bit of food as they waited for the elusive contact that was supposed to meet them here

After a few minutes, Miyohu broke the silence.

"Tell me uncle, what's it like up north?" he asked in a curious voice, while Takani gave him a calculated one, as if asking 'what the fuck are you doing?' "It's been years since I've seen gramps, ever since he moved. What's it like there?" he continued, much to Takani's annoyance, however the barely visible moves his hand made told him a different story _'Two nin. Iwa. Chunin. Three tables left. Keep talking'_

'_Smart brat. He's getting into this quite well already._' he thought as he began talking, explaining to the 'naive youth' about the north. The two enemies were non the wiser as a somewhat drunken figure made it's way towards the bar, sitting right next to them. Miyohu noted that Takani had forcibly drained most of his drink

"Hold on a second, I'll go get some more" he commented to the two, and barely brushed the man. He came back a few seconds later with another bottle of sake, gladly pouring himself another saucer as he waited for the drunken man to leave, signaling the two that he was the contact and to keep quiet

Youmei had already been studying the two enemies, putting their faces together with the information she had neatly memorized. Any sane ninja above chunin rank knew the Bingo books by heart, and she certainly wasn't foolish enough to make such a mistake. However, those two were in the books, marked of as the Emerald siblings, Cho and Sei, and even though they had low chakra, they were dangerous enough to warrant an C-rank reward from Kumo for their heads. It would be best if the two were avoided, it would waste time. She notified the two of it, and with a nod, they slowly, and in visibly good mood left the tavern after only drinking and eating a little. Both visibly stiffened when they left the building and heard Takani's voice

"Miyohu, go to the inn and get our belongings. We're waiting for you outside the village near the bridge."

Miyohu silently nodded and walked off.

"That settles that. Youmei, I need you to follow him and see if someone will follow" he quietly ordered "I am worried about those two you noticed. People of their class don't wander for nothing. I you really have to, feel free to use your full power. Both of you"

Youmei nodded, and proceeded to stealthily follow her red-haired 'husband' with great care not to reveal herself.

_'Now to figure out our next move' _Takani mused as he hid himself in the shadows and proceeded to read the contents of the small package in his hands.

And his assumptions proved to be right, as Youmei found out, the Emerald siblings were after Miyohu. The only thing was, why? She proceeded to silently trail them as the young man went to the inn, not once revealing any trace of real skill, even tripping a few times on the rocks in the dark.

'_Could they have seen through his disguise? No, they would have either fled for reinforcements or attacked him by now... so what are they after? He knows, that I'm sure of. So let's see what kind of trap does he lay for them_'

Miyohu indeed knew that the two were following him, and he did everything in his might to shake the two off, until he was able to read their lips and discern their intentions. Slavers, as he found _out.'Well, those two are in for a very rude surprise. I wonder what kind of reward would Konoha give for having the two of them alive? Time to implement my plan' _he idly mused as he moved into the inn and past the nearly sleeping attendant. He hurried off to his room, and withdrew his right sleeve, revealing his summoning tattoo. A second later, his friend Gamakichi showed up.

"Hey br-" Gamakichi tried to greet when a hand covered his mouth, with Miyohu keeping a finger over his mouth. The toad nodded in understanding and he removed the hand

"Nice looks" Gamakichi whispered

"Goes with the job. I need you to deliver something to Jiraya and Anko as inconspicuously as possible" Miyohu explained as he passed a hastily written scroll to him.

"Hai, hai, just don't get killed, right bro? Later" Gamakichi saluted as he left, leaving a smiling redhead. Oh yes, it was time to have fun. He could swear he heard the old pervert laughing at his idea. It was funny. He wondered how the authorities in Iwa would react to having the two of them beaten by an apparent civilian. Miyohu proceeded to pack up their few belongings into scrolls, and pulled out his sword. The simple katana was a good weapon... for fighting civilians, beasts or simple guardsmen. Not shinobi... so he decided to give it a small boost. After all, a 'civilian' needed more time to pack, didn't he?

He calmly walked outside, his left hand holding the small bag over his shoulder, and the right one holding the sword between the sheath and the handle.

"Can I help you?" he quietly asked the two nin that were following him. He finally got a good look at them as they walked out. Both were dressed in rather form-fitting armor chain armor that easily covered most of their bodies, easily going over cloth pants and coats covering it all. Both were wielding staffs.

"You could go peacefully" Cho, the male sibling answered "We just want to sell you for the money, you'd make a good slave" he added with a smirk.

"Oh? A pair of ninja? This wouldn't be a fair fight I'm afraid" Miyohu lamented and the two laughed "I mean, just the two of you stand no chance of beating me" he commented in an equal voice as he dropped the bag and gripped the handle of his sword, awaiting their attack.

"Look sis, the little samurai wants to fight us."

"Just shut up Cho and let's finish this. I want to get that young wife of his as well" Sei responded with a low voice, clearly angry. However, little did she know what she just unleashed. Miyohu's eyes hardened, just as his grip on the blade tightened. Even in his growing anger, he still let the enemies make the first step, silently swearing that it would be their last.

Cho chuckled and charged, with Sei right behind him, both wielding a staff and preparing to hit him on the head. They weren't even using chakra.

_'Focus, prepare'_

The two drew closer and Cho took a swing at him, Miyohu began to sidestep the attack

'_Draw, slash, punch_'

He moved through his defenses effortlessly, landing a single slash against his chest moved behind him and elbowed him in the back of the neck. He preparing for the next move.

_'Spin,_ _slash_'

Sei barely had the chance to react and slow her charge when Miyohu began a spin, and the blade swung straight at her, cutting right through the staff she carried and hitting her across the chest, breaking the armor open. The wound was shallow, but she was now on the ground and the blade was pointing at her neck, with barely a few millimeters in between

"Yield or you die" Miyohu spoke in a deathly calm voice, all the while channeling brutal amounts of killing intent.

"I..I y-yield" Sei spoke in a frightened voice. Who the hell was this guy? He beat them with nothing more than his sword? Sure, they didn't use their jutsu, but they were still supposed to be stronger then him

"Then sleep" Miyohu added and hit a pressure point near on her neck. Her world faded to black.

Youmei smiled at her 'husband's' actions. He did better than she expected, and without using any chakra at all. '_The true weapon of a ninja is deception_' she mused while a cruel smile spread over her lips. How she wished she was home now. She jumped over there and helped Miyohu tie them up, and waited as he summoned Gamakichi. The little vested toad appeared once more with a wide smile on his face as he chewed on some sweats.

"Hey bro, see you managed to bag em." Gamakichi greeted

"Very funny 'Kichi. I need your advice on something. Can your kin help me transport these guys to Konoha?"Miyohu asked him. Gamakichi took a thinking stance, with a webbed foot(hand, appendage, whatever) under his chin

"That will cost you" he quietly answered, to a laughing Miyohu, who immediately pulled out a small bag of candy. "Will this do?"

"Hell yeah!" Gamakichi shouted as he leaped on the bag. "I'll call Gamaken over to carry them. He's at least easy to convince. Where do you want them?"

"ANBU headquarters. I'll attached a small scroll that will tell them what they need to know."

"Fine. I'm off" Gamakichi replied and vanished in a puff of smoke, along with the bag of treats for him. Miyohu quickly pulled out a scroll and with the speed earned from his constant working with seals made quick instructions for the two. Konoha could always use some information on the other villages.

"Not bad gaki." Takani called from his perch on one of the roofs. "Now let's get out of here and leave the summons to handle it, okay?"

"Hai, hai. Don't get a heart attack you old geezer" Miyohu replied, waving him off with his hands

"No respect for elders..." Takani spoke with fake tears in his eyes. In a few moments he calmed down "Move out. We're heading to the north" he commanded in his usual voice. The two nodded and moved out.

_**(AN: End of the disguises, although I may use them again. )**_

As soon as they left the small village behind, Naruto thanked Kami for the chance to return to his usual clothes, the comfortable ants and shirt, and the white coat that went over them, along with the bracers and leather gloves that guarded his hands.

"Damn it feels good to be me again" he whispered unheard in the cold night wind. He finally released the seal that was keeping all of his chakra back, and cherished the return of his sight. The white cloaks returned along with the three masks and the radios

_'Fox, Snake, this is Toad, do you copy?'_

_'Snake here, reading you loud and clear'_

"This is Fox, all clear" Naruto responded as the three of them began moving.

_'Listen carefully, Nadere is under siege by the samurai army of a local warlord, and to make things worse, Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune are there, along one of Orochimaru's outposts. We have to reach the city by tomorrow night, assist and extract the two of them,and if possible help the city out. Just follow my lead, and I'll hand out further orders when we get there.'_

With a tired sigh, Naruto went on. Twenty four hours without sleep and going...

_(07:00, Konoha, Office Hokage)_

The collection of people that were gathered at the early hour were interesting to say the least. Far from the usual meetings, the people present here were only those that Sarutobi Hiruzen deemed worthy of his complete trust. The original Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Hiashi Hyuuga, Sarutobi Asuma, Kakashi Hatake, Maito Gai, Ibiki Morino, and to everyone's surprise, a very, _very_ worried Sasuke Uchiha, holding a scroll

"Now that we're all here, care to explain your findings Sasuke?" Hiruzen asked in a grandfatherly tone.

The others were curious at the question, and while many of them assumed that the scroll was important somehow, no one had the idea just how important it was.

Sasuke was for the final time considering whether this was a wise decision. He was giving up clan information, and although he didn't want his enemies to know his strengths and weaknesses, this was for everyone's sake. His own included, as he seriously doubted that Madara was going to be friendly towards a member of his dear family.

"A week ago, I was searching through the clan archives for information that may be of use. The various things I found were mostly useless apart from a journal of sorts, and a short work on the Sharingan, both written by Madara Uchiha" he began in a calm voice "However, the dates in the journal didn't make sense until I read both scrolls. In reality the Sharingan has three levels, the normal one, a second stage called Mangekyo Sharingan which is brought about by great personal loss and give access to new powers and a final stage, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. I can personally guarantee that Itachi possesses the second stage, as he..." he paused for a moment to overcome the feelings of rage and loathing "he used it on me. However, that's where things get worrying. The third stage grants agelessness." he spoke in a worried tone now, fully aware of the implications of his words "Madara Uchiha survived his battle with Senju Hashirama in the Valley of the End, and is still alive."

"And why are you so certain of this information?" Hiashi doubtfully asked

"Because he also left one final entry in the journal, dated to a little more than fourteen years ago, just a week before the Kyuubi attack. I quote 'I've finally found it, in a week's time, Konoha will burn for their betrayal, and my cowardly family will finally be purged from the face of the earth'"

An immediate silence descended on the room.

"Am I the only one who finds this to be awfully convenient?" Shikaku asked.

"I know" Sasuke was the first to answer "So I checked for the obvious, the Sharingan is perfectly capable of copying handwriting just as it's capable of copying jutsu, however, you don't get to copy individual letters but whole words. Also, the scroll describing the forms of the Sharingan had ink that was completely dry, and had started to fade away. In other words, it was old. As an added fact, I've gone through most of the clan records and histories. When Madara first developed the Mangekyo first, he had started going blind over time. In an attempt to save him, his brother willingly gave up his eyes, so that his brother could see. Care to guess what happened?" Sasuke rhetorically asked

"That's too many coincidences..." Inoichi added

"Agreed" Hiruzen spoke"And there is one person who could confirm all of this. But for now, the question is what do we do about it?"

_(12:00, Whirlpool Country, five kilometers south of Nadere )_

"My god...." Naruto quietly muttered at the sight before him.

"Aye, war is never pretty" Jiraya sadly mused, while Anko simply nodded. Naruto prepared to jump further when a hand on his shoulder stopped him

"Before we go Naruto, there is something you must understand." Jiraya spoke in a quiet, but serious tone. "Should we help these people, you can be certain that you will gain a position in the Bingo books. It is completely certain that there are several factions overseeing the situation here. Do you understand what that will mean?"

Naruto didn't turn, and waited a few moments before replying.

"It means that I will once more be hunted by my enemies" he spoke in a serious tone "But what kind of a ninja of Konoha would I be if I was scared away from my _duty_ so easily... " he added as he walked off, eyes locked at the sight in front of them. Nadere was burning, but the battle was still raging. They had very little time. With a final move, he unsealed the Song of the Wind from his palm and vanished.

"Do you think we should be worried for him?" Jiraya asked Anko

"No, I don't think so. This isn't a desire for killing or revenge." she stopped for a moment "I think he sees something there, something he wishes to protect, something he's willing to lay down his life for. "

_(Unknown time and location. Presumed to be present)_

"Six. Report" a voice that seemed as old as time ordered. It left no room for argument in it's tone, and promised a swift death to those who would argue. The room was circular, or at least it seemed that way from the little light that illuminated the center. Along the edge of the corner were ten seats, the people on them hidden by shadows. The person refereed to as Six walked to the edge of the white circle of light, making only his feet visible

"Hai. The experiment was a success." Six spoke in a confident and pleased tone "The results however, weren't as fortunate, the base exploded and burned down two days ago. Still, I managed to deal a blow to both villages beforehand."

"Excellent work Six. Seven and Eight, you are to locate your second target. Three and Four, continue with your missions. Six, take the week to rest and then join up with Five to capture the Second in Kumo. Nine and Ten, the Ninth has been located in Whirlpool. Pursue and capture him" the same voice ordered, and two out of the ten shadows simply faded into the darkness. The leader, the man who had spoken the entire time and give orders intertwined his fingers under his chin.

A cruel smile crossed his lips as he began laughing.

* * *

**Author's notes: **And the plot thickens.. somewhat at least. Anyho, I wanted to add a few details like this, display a bit of the other side of the ninja, the one that doesn't go with directly stabbing someone in the gut, and add the preparations for the next chapter where all hell will break lose. The second major battle, this time however, with Naruto on the offensive rather than the defense as he usually goes. I intend to display just how deadly Naruto is with his current arsenal of skills and mindset.


	16. Ruins of Whirlpool : White Wraith

**Author's Ramblings: **Okay, before we start here, I'm pointing one thing out. A ninja can easily beat ordinary soldiers at five to one, considering that they are far stronger. Also, while it may seem so, Naruto's actions in about five paragraphs (I"m too lazy to count) were by no means a rushed action. Also, the second execution technique of the Dance of Ruin will be making it's appearance along with a normal battle technique. What? Did you really think that all he was doing during training was chakra control? Anyway, the battles here should be at least entertaining.

Also, as the pool I've set up has mostly been favorable for my idea of 'With But a Pull of the Strings', I've started writing down notes for it. Remember, the vote is open until sunday evening when I will close it, and the first chapter of whatever story you choose will be up by next friday.

* * *

_Chapter 16 : Ruins of Whirlpool : White Wraith_

Naruto threw off his white cloak but left the mask on as he held the sheathed blade of his katana in his left hand. Right behind him were Anko and Jiraya, both fully ready for combat.

"So what's the plan?" Anko asked. The tension was palpable as the group charged into the area.

"We secure the breach first, help clear out as many of the troops inside as possible, and locate Tsunade and Shizune" Naruto replied, never turning back, completely focused on the battle ahead of them.

"Sounds good. Any ideas how to seal the breach?" Jiraya asked "I could set up an earth wall"

"I have a better idea, but I have to check if it works first" Naruto replied "However, I still need you to cover me for it. Anko, can you make sure we don't get taken out?"

"Easy. So, do we charge in or sneak in?" she asked, barely hearing the soft chuckle coming out of the mask

"You sneak in... I'll provide the distraction. Give me five minutes" Naruto answered in an even tone, one that hid the smirk on his face very well as he vanished. He never told them the last part of what he saw. And he doubted he would. They would soon see for themselves, but he felt the rage burning in his gut one more, the same one he felt all those months ago when he helped save the people of Wave, and Gato showed up.

"Why do I get the feeling that all hell is about to break loose?" Jiraya quietly asked as the two of them started waiting. Indeed, all hell was about to break loose.

Sensha Kaime was a lord, the feudal ruler of a small piece of land to the west of Nadere. Mostly he hated the city for the simple fact that they took the brunt of the commerce in the region, and thus the brunt of the profit, for themselves, while he was stuck with a deal that he viewed as unfavorable. So, he did what any like minded tyrannical despot would do, he raised an army and went to conquer it. A dozen or so hired ninja made the job significantly easier. After all, a bunch of people who specialize in destroying walls are always welcome in besieging armies.

Kaime wasn't a superstitious man. He didn't believe in bad omens and similar nonsense. He didn't really believe in ghosts and demons either, thinking them the foolish stories told among lesser people, such as his serfs, slaves and ninja. But, the sight that he was seeing before his eyes were enough to wipe away any such doubts.

Nearly half of the army under Lord Sensha's command was still outside the city, while most of those inside were beginning to break ranks and plunder, neither group spotting a third one heading towards their back...

Many of the soldiers still on the outside suddenly dropped their swords as they felt an unnatural rush of wind, and raw fear gripping their bodies. Some of the more experienced made small cuts on their hands, using the pain to get a hold of themselves, and it worked, for a short time anyway. The wave of fear spread even further, quickly reaching the walls when the first footsteps began echoing. At first it was a few steps, but soon enough it turned into dozens and then hundreds of sounds, as if an entire army was running towards them, but the small hill down which they were coming was suspiciously empty.

And then it came. First, a chain of explosions came from the right flank of the army, killing more than a hundred. Said explosion was instantly followed by screams from the back as men were cut to shreds by white, masked figures who would appear for a moment and vanish in the next, leaving nothing more than a bleeding body. However, among all of those specters that walked was one figure dressed in white, a pale mask covering his face as the song of a mournful choir echoed in the wind. The figure held a blue katana, still sheathed, and pointed at them, completely silent. The battle had stopped, the battlefield silent apart for the wind and the song. One of the lesser officers charged at him, but was cut down by a figure that once more appeared for no more than a moment, kneeling behind the victim with a drawn, bloodied sword, only to vanish immediately afterward.

Murmurs began spreading through the army, the question on everyone's lips was who the man was. The song suddenly stopped, and the single visible person spoke, in a cold, maliciously sharp voice as a thick mist began descending on the battlefield.

"_Legion of the White Wraith, attack!_" he shouted, as he himself vanished, and reappeared in the middle of the enemy army, sword drawn and bloody. The battlecry resounded across the plain, joined by the ghostly voices of the newly named Legion of the White Wraith, sowing terror and death across the battlefield

"Kami..." Anko whispered, eyes wide in shock as the ghostly figures descended on the panicked army

"Come on, this is our 'distraction'" Jiraya added. He was shaken by what Naruto had done, who wouldn't be? Naruto had figured out a way to engage an army which was numerically superior at five hundred to one, and he had a damn good chance at winning. It only now dawned to him just how well Naruto understood the most powerful weapon of the ninja. Deception was deadly, and as shown a single ninja could be more than a match for an entire army of non-shinobi opponents. And in the end it no longer mattered whether he could win or not, he spread panic through the enemy ranks, and created a distraction that would probably stop the troops inside, while buying them the time to move through the fray unharmed.

"Let's go Anko. We don't have the time to loiter around" he ordered when he noticed that she wasn't yet moving. Anko finally nodded and followed him. How much was there that she didn't know about the man she loved? She realized that she didn't know, but swore to learn everything.

Naruto sighed tiredly after about five minutes of work. The art of Silent Killing that he picked up from Zabuza was still just as deadly, and combined with his clones, the invisibility jutsu from Jiraya and proper intimidation, it was downright fatal. He vaguely remembered a text he read a long time ago on the art of psychological combat. As a kid, he chanced upon it, and didn't understand it a bit, but he still read it. Now he understood it perfectly, and applied it just as well. Sow fear among your foes, disrupt their ranks, take out the commanding officers, and when they're brought to their weakest, strike quickly and decisively.

Still, he and his army of one hundred avoided killing whenever possible, leaving more than three of the five hundred alive, but either wounded or unconscious. He had no time to check. There was no mercy for them when he avoided dealing killing blows, he simply didn't want to handle the combined memories of a massacre done by his clones. So, he left the clones to do the fighting while he walked through, fighting only those that stopped his progress. The general of the army was ahead, and he was at the top of the chain of command. Take him down and the rest of the troops will be easy to defeat. There were those he had to save. Now. His lone figure walked towards the surviving troops, the bloodied sword unsheathed in his right hand, while the sheath, equally bloodied stood in his left. The troops had recovered.. mostly, the palpable presence of death that he exuded still scared them. With good reason too, for Naruto had sensed the hastily erected slave camps near the city walls and saw the line of people being led there.

"_No mercy.."_ he whispered in his changed voice, immediately followed by the rest of his army.

Lord Sensha cursed loudly at the fact that half of his troops were taken out by an unknown enemy and that the almost finished siege and conquest of Nadere was now turning into a bloody defeat. Most of the surviving Nadere guards were in the old fortress that once belonged to the Uzumaki royal family, in the days of Whirlpool's old glory, along with nearly a half of the populace. His own men had finally managed to get the siege machines ready to breach the final defenses and obtain victory. However, he still had his ace up the sleeve.

"Akari, what the hell is going on?" he asked the leader of the mercenary ninja he had hired. Akari was a tall, very pale and very thin ninja, formerly of Takigakure, until he and his group were forced to flee after their less savory activities were discovered. He was a veteran ninja, however, he was also very greedy, and his main reason for joining the attack under Sensha's banner was the promise of slaves, and looting of the fortress of Nadere. The enemy, whoever it was, certainly was a ninja, he sensed the usage of chakra, and the sheer pressure of his killing intent. And the rather horrid story one of the surviving officer told about an invisible army, and a man leading them was more like something out of a fairy tale, but he knew better. Now the only question was, what kind of jutsu the ninja used

"A ninja, and a skilled one at it. Tekai, Fengak, with me. We deal with the ninja. Kijo, you lead the others while we're gone." he quickly ordered, and jumped at the open field, followed by the other two.

Within the fortress, three women surrounded an unconscious fourth. The first of those was a blond, seemingly in her late twenties, better known as Tsunade Senju. The second woman was her apprentice, Shizune. However, it was the third and the fourth woman present that were truly interesting, if for nothing else, for the fact that they were almost entirely identical, aside from the fact that the one that was still standing looked a decade younger, and the older, unconscious one was had a large array of seals covering a great deal of her skin.

The doors of the room were suddenly opened and a young soldier crashed in

"Lady Tsunade!" he shouted, trying to catch his breath. "Kaisho-sama needs to see you immediately"

"Did he say why?" she calmly asked, never turning from her patient.

"There seems to be another army engaging the invaders" he almost hesitantly answered

"An army?" Shizune asked the young woman next to her. She had shoulder long red hair and blue eyes, and a tired smile that marred her otherwise beautiful features.

"Alright, tell Kaisho I'm coming" Tsunade answered. She was tired, her chakra was exhausted, and things were going from bad to worse. How she let this slide so badly out of control she'd never know.

Akari threw his calculating gaze upon the lone figure that moved towards the walls through the remnants of Sensha's army. It was a curious one, dressed all in white with a bloodied sword, yet the clothes were completely clean of blood, and the malicious gaze of two blue eyes behind the mask sent a shiver up his spine. He immediately realized that he wasn't fighting an ordinary ninja... and he wasn't even sure that it was _one_ ninja. While he could only notice one, he also felt around a sixty other signatures roaming around. He was still at a safe distance, atop the walls that surrounded the city, and observing him as he charged at the small area where one of the two generals that led lord Sensha's army was situated, his ghostly legion quite easily cleansing the area around him. He spotted them at short moments, a flicker here and there. _'Shunshin'_ he accurately identified it. A few moment's observation confirmed his thoughts that all of the chakra signatures were of equal strength to the one that was visible. '_Clones then, and he's using some sort of jutsu to make them invisible. Not a bad move altogether. He's not a weakling, and if I had to guess, a jounin most likely. Besides, if these are the shadow clones that I think they are, then this guy is from Konoha and came as support for the Slug Sannin. And I doubt they would send a weakling. However, a guy this strong would have surfaced in the bingo books already, so who the hell is he?_'

"Fengak, Tekai, engage the enemy. Just gauge his strength and play it safely, this guy is no joke." he quietly ordered to his two subordinates. He needed an accurate estimate, and simple soldiers were useless for that.

'_Toad, two ninja on an intercept course with Fox_' Anko communicated over the radio

"Read you loud and clear. Fox can handle them. Proceed as planned" Jiraya responded

_'I see them Toad, and I'll handle them. You take out the third one who's watching me from the ramparts. He's just a bit left from the breach and about jounin in strength.' _Naruto joined the conversation over the radio.

"Roger that. Toad out" Jiraya finished. Well, a single target, even jounin at strength would be sorely challenged against him

Anko smirked at the comments Well, no one could say anything if she had some fun on his mission. It was her _job, _afterall. Her enemies were rarely left alive to speak of it, but Anko kept a lot of hidden weapons on her, and every single one of them was laced with a variety of poison, that, or a rather potent explosive tag, courtesy of her boyfriend. However, her pride and joy was a far different weapon, one she hadn't used in a long while.

The figure of the self-named White Wraith stood perfectly calm as he waited for the two enemies. The Song of the Wind was gone, the blade Quicksilver was in it's place. Naruto wasn't overly concerned, he used the chakra storage seal on his chest to restore his chakra back to it's original level, and only suppressed it afterward to hide it. He learned his lesson well, he would never underestimate an enemy.

The two were completely quiet as they approached him. He had expected taunts, attempts at making him reveal information, but the only thing that he got were two very focused enemies. He took his time studying the two approaching foes, this would not be as easy as the last fight he was in.

The first one was tall, but bulky, a large two handed axe was strapped to his back, and the green-gray plated armor he wore made him look more like a normal warrior than a ninja, but he knew better, the barely visible etchings of seals on the surface of the armor was a dead give-away. He also seemed to favor his right leg but that could have easily been a ploy. There was no hitai-ate anywhere, nor where there any identifiable markings... a real mercenary.

The other slightly shorter, but seemed to have no weapons apart from a single kunai. He was of lean build, and apart from his relatively light bluish clothes. The way he juggled the kunai between indicated that he was probably ambidextrous, but the obvious lack of any seals or other markings left him with a little concern as to what his skills were. Genjutsu? Ninjutsu? Hell, even some styles of taijutsu were a real possibility. He would have to be careful.

The three of them stopped for a moment, Naruto wasn't sure if they were aware of the remaining sixty or so clones in the area, but he would have to use them regardless. He couldn't afford the risk. That and a few new moves. He immediately tensed up as he noticed the larger one take his axe, spinning it a few times in his hand, like it weighed no more than a feather.

"Ready Fengak?" the bigger guy asked the smaller one, right before he prepared his first attack.

Naruto inwardly cursed as the man disappeared from sight and moved his hand to block the blade that was coming from his back, blocking it effortlessly just before it reached his neck. The blow struck him as an odd one, as the axe didn't strike with nearly as much force as he expected. Was the enemy toying with him? Not waiting a moment longer than necessary he molded his chakra into his free right hand, and tried slamming a Paralyzing Palm into his enemy's gut, however he moved away with a speed he wouldn't have expected from a bulky foe, while his partner began going through handseals.

_'Time to cheat a bit more' _Naruto mused as he substituted himself with one of his invisible clones and sank into the ground beyond their line of sight, watching as Fengak unleashed a torrent water needles upon the unfortunate clone. '_Haku used that move if memory serves. A ninjutsu user_' Naruto reminded himself from the safety of the ground, as the projectiles hit many of his clones at the same time. Maybe he should give them a reason to fear him.

'**Hidden Mist jutsu**' he mentally uttered as he and twenty other clones rose from the ground in a circle around the two, the rising mist concealing them perfectly. Ten clones moved to engage each of them while the original remained perfectly still, in wait to study their reactions and strike them down.

Tekai, the axe-wielder smirked as he sensed the approaching clones.

"Not gonna work bastard!" he shouted as he leaped at the nearest group, his axe bursting into flames and slashing through five of his clones instantly. As an added effect, the burning blade of the axe dispersed the cover of mist around him.

Fengak was no easier apparently, as the ten clones sent at him were easily disposed of by his single kunai, without even once resorting to jutsu. The calculating, cold gray eyes were staring straight at him through the mist.

_'So, one of them uses fire and the axe, while the other is very skilled at close range and uses water jutsu... and is able to see through the Hidden Mist. Interesting, let's see how they handle this'_

"**Dance of Ruin**_" _Naruto loudly intoned, preparing one of his new moves, he heard Tekai shouting "Fengak, get ready, he's about to do something!"

Naruto was focusing all of his chakra into the three critical points for his move, the eyes, the legs and the arms

"**Death of A Thousand Cuts" (AN: Sorry, I just had to use it :P)**

Fengak smirked at the name of the move, expecting some sort of long range attack as that was what most of the would-be swordsmen used these days, however he was in for a painful surprise as Naruto appeared right behind him

"_**One hundred**_" he whispered as Quicksilver slashed through his armor on the back, not even giving him the time to react. It was then that Fengak realized just what the attack did, as he felt a hundred razor-sharp blades cut across his back. The cuts were shallow, but he was almost afraid to look, knowing that his entire back was a bleeding mess now, but he still had the presence of mind to move himself away from the next blow via his own shunshin.

"A shame" Naruto loudly commented, letting a sliver of irritation slip past his emotionless mask. "I was hoping that would work... otherwise I'll have to resort to more unpleasant moves." '_It did harm his back considerably though, so it wasn't a complete waste. That axe of his is interesting though, I'll have to get it once he's down and out._'

He grinned under his mask as he immediately switched his attention to the other man, leaving a single clone to handle the previous victim. He quickly realized that his previous prediction was wrong. The Water Needles he used were a low-chakra jutsu, and what soon followed finally gave him a good idea what kind of an enemy he was.

The landscape around him melted away, to be replaced by a nightmarish sight of twisted flesh and monstrous fangs as a massive beast appeared before him. He felt a shiver run up his spine as he watched the beast move towards him _'A genjutsu, damn it, the one thing I'm not good at. Think, how do you disable genjutsu. Pain? Not gonna work on this, it would have to be a lot of pain. That's it! A strong chakra pulse should do the trick'_

Tekai snarled at his enemy's skill. He already realized that they were sacrificed to study a stronger opponent, he only wondered just how the hell he didn't figure it out sooner. Now, he was looking for a way out that leaves him with his limbs attached to his torso. Preferably alive as well.

Fengak was still bleeding from his back, and the lack of the blood pills he usually carried meant that he was going to die from bleeding in a while. He promised himself to drag the bastard to hell along with him.

A feverish grin covered Anko's face as she watched the now helpless jounin be injected with a variety of poisons as Jiraya searched through his belongings, looking for any usable information.

Akari fought against the poison with all his will and every skill he could think of, but nothing worked against the staff that the crazy woman was holding in her hands. A staff made of five intertwined snakes, which were still as stone for the entire length of the handle, only turning live at the end where the heads where, and that end was holding all of his limbs down, while the heads had bitten him, injecting various toxins into his body, and ensuring a coming death. She wasn't overly worried about him, regardless of his skills, any fool that allows himself to drop his guard so much as to not notice her coming deserved to die a stupid death... and it did help that she was Konoha's resident stealth specialist.

Jiraya frowned slightly when he finished going through the man's belongings, while the stuff he dug up was useful, it was also rather irritating. The fool held onto a few smaller scrolls and some papers, likely blackmail and self-protection material, along with several rather interesting maps of Whirlpool and Earth countries, with marked in locations of slave labor camps and markets... something he'd have to deal with at another date unfortunately. He knew full well what kind of a problem slavery was in the northern countries, and he also knew that Iwa more than just supported the notion of slavery, while Kumo practiced it... but rarely, as they liked their alliance with Kiri, who abolished slavery decades ago, and didn't tolerate it in any of their allies.

"Come on, Snake, stop torturing the idiot. Fox is making a show" he quietly ordered, making the purple-haired kunoichi pout. Jiraya shook his head, at least she wasn't his problem, how Naruto got along with her so well was beyond him. Anko mumbled something, but settled with watching her boyfriend and unsummoned the snake-staff, perching herself on the ramparts and watching the battle go on, unaware of a pair of eyes watching the battle from above.

Naruto had vaguely sensed his audience as he dodged another blow from Fengak's axe, the burning blade cutting through the air just in front of him, while Tekai apparently plotted something while pelting him with senbon and shuriken. Considering who was watching, he decided to give a bit of a show, and try out the newest move he added to his style, this one based on the original teachings... he dodged yet another blow, and noted that for all his skill, Fengak was growing weaker with every passing moment from what he was certain was blood loss. At least he would give the man a death in combat... regardless of whether he deserved or not. Focusing a large amount of chakra into his feet he leaped away from them, both hands gripping the handle of the blade that was above him, as his memory recalled the path

_'Calm the mind, still it. Let the feeling of the world around you enter your mind's eye. Focus only on the target, neither the move, nor the weapon, focus solely on the moment of the cut as you gather and unleash your strength'_

"**Dance of Ruin" **he intoned as he prepared the last of his strength, holding his breath, aiming all of it at the healthier of the two "**Glorious Heaven's Dividing Edge**" he uttered the final words, as he felt every shred of thought leave his mind, entering a calm state of nothingness as the world faded away to his speed. The only thing he felt was his arms move as he slashed through his enemy, and that lasted for a split second. He never saw what happened to Tekai as he appeared about ten meters behind him and released the breath he was holding. The tendons on both his legs and arms were slowly healing, but they would be of no use for a serious combat in less than ten minutes, and along with multiple small gashes on his skin which were rapidly healing, he needed to end the battle now.

Fengak wasn't nearly as fortunate, as he watched his partner being cut cleanly in two, a straight, diagonal cut through both his arms and his body, hitting straight through the heart, and leaving him dead within moments. The bloody spectacle before him left him shocked to the core. He didn't like the guy, heaven forbid, he was a complete and opportunistic bastard no better than him, but still, that _could _and still _might _be him. And that idea didn't settle well with his long-term plans such as survival. However, such thoughts were cut at the root as a glowing kunai embedded itself into his throat. A final thought passed his mind before he died... he had let his guard down.

"So, let me get this straight" Tsunade stated, rubbing her aching temples "You are telling me that Jiraya is here, along with someone that is apparently his apprentice and another ninja of the leaf?"

The figure of the old lord Kaisho looked at her intently, offering merely a nod in return

"And they are coming for me? To bring me back to Konoha?"

Another nod. Apparently, Kaisho wasn't a man of many words. What Tsunade did know, was that he was a man of great wisdom, and had a great store of knowledge both historic and current, which he could always easily access... and was willing to share with anyone he named friend, like her. In fact it was he who invited her here, requesting her healing skills to handle a, what he called 'strange case'. Indeed, her patient, for all her familiarity was anything but ordinary, and for once, she was damn glad that Jiraya was near... she could actually use his help. Apart from the Genesis Rebirth Seal on her forehead, which she developed with his help to provide the basics, she knew next to nothing about them... medicine however, in that she was _the_ best, just like Jiraya was the greatest expert on seals she knew, and Orochimaru was a genius when it came to ninjutsu. The situation of the familiar red-haired woman was beyond her, as such a thing shouldn't be medically possible, but the work stank of Orochimaru, so she conceded on the part. Somehow, he didn't have that much of a problem when it came to the impossible... then again the term impossible rarely held up to scrutiny in the shinobi world.

"The apprentice has already defeated over half of the invading army" Kaisho offhandedly commented to the rather surprised sannin. "While his Master and... girlfriend apparently are taking care of the other half. My forces are presently retaking the city with ease as the remaining half thousand soldiers are demoralized and their esteemed leader knows next to nothing about battle tactics" he explained, saying in one conversation more than he did the entire day, once more leaving Tsunade with a growing headache. She knew that every student that Jiraya had trained turned out to be either great, or dead... most of the times both, which considering their profession, yet again, was hardly odd. In fact, the sannin, along with their sensei Sarutobi were an aberration in the ninja world, for the sheer age they achieved.

Jiraya was smirking all the way towards the central fortress, as he was accompanied by a now unmasked Naruto and a rather cheerful Anko. He listened to small everyday talks between the two, mostly focusing on simple things, such as food, fun and the choice of ideal weapons for assassination. Yep, perfectly normal. Now if he could only get some good material for his books the day would be complete.

"You know, I've been wondering for a while now... I've read everything there is about Tsunade, but there were no mentions of her character apart from her loyalty to Konoha. Could you tell me more about her?" Naruto suddenly asked him. Jiraya had frozen in place at his question, very much surprising the other two.

"You okay Jiraya-sama?" Anko asked in a slightly worried tone, and barely noticed the quickly hidden note of pain on his face.

"It's.. something I would rather not discuss" Jiraya softly replied, and the two quickly picked up the 'Please don't ask anymore tone' in his voice. Naruto realized that whatever happened between the two of them had hurt him, and that it might be something that he hadn't come to terms with yet. He almost chuckled at the fact that even he had a few of those. They proceeded to quietly walk towards the fortress, the remaining soldiers of Whirlpool either ignoring them, or in more frequently, greeting them as saviors and pointing them at shortcuts towards the fortress... or good taverns where celebrations would be held apparently.

Naruto watched the city intently, absorbing the appearance that was so different from Konoha. The buildings were mostly stone, but that made little sense to him, as Whirlpool was a frigid country, so it made him curious how they kept them warm. Also, most of the city had buildings topped at three stories, probably for the same reason, only several buildings, that he assumed were either temples or guard towers, along with the fortress were taller. The city seemed old, ancient even, and there were many hints of past glory. A large park they passed by had visible irrigation systems, along with others that kept sufficient warmth for any species of plant to grow. There were old homes that he was pretty sure predated the Ninja era and the Sage of the Six Paths. He spotted what seemed to be shops, all boarded up to protect the goods hidden within, many of the boards taken off as the invading forces looted and pillaged. Most of the corpses of both allied and enemy troops were at the walls, where the fighting was at it's worst, however, there was still the occasional body here and there, and what truly sickened him that most of them were civilians. While such deaths were expected, they weren't truly needed. The civilian population, while marginally larger than the invading army, was still no real threat to them. And that, he mused was probably the truth of war... he promptly decided to get his mind to stop thinking about things so depressive and turned to the prospect of finding a decent ramen shop in Nadere after the whole mess was over.

Unlike him, Anko was more than used to being in other cities.. an assassination and infiltration expert would normally get missions that took them away from home, so she did what her instincts honed in countless missions told her to do: she subconsciously spotted and noted every single area that might be of importance for later. There was little more time for that as they were approaching the fortress, which was in itself an impressive sight. It went around any style known to her, it's high walls and towers that seemed to stretch on to the heavens, all built of a black rock that seemed harder than granite. The massive triple gates at the entrance, slits for arrows along with a fine collection of catapults, balistae and other less recognizable weapons that graced crenelated positions along the walls of the castle gave a very sharp impression that whoever built the place intended to make it impossible to conquer, but to also make it a viable retreat for the general populace of the surrounding city. If she had to guess, the fortress probably had stores of food, and a independent water source of it's own.

The halls of the fortress were surprisingly warm to the trio as they walked toward what was once the throne room, where their meeting with the lord of the city of Nadere would occur, and where they would also find Tsunade. Out of the three it seemed that Jiraya was the most worried about the encounter, and the other two couldn't figure out why. The guards they passed by were mostly calm, although many of them offered a smile, as it was obvious they were coming in peace, and it did help that their leader stated that they were safe from them. It was even more amusing to them to see the curious and grateful glances of the civilians, most of them awed at watching three figures of apparently epic and mythical power. Ninja weren't a common commodity here, and most of them were outright hostile. To have not just a few, but a total of five capable ninja present and on their side, was more than a little surprise to them

Jiraya had adopted a decidedly bland expression on his face, perfectly calm at the coming conversation. While he cared a great deal about his long-time teammate, there were still a few things left unanswered between them. And before he allowed himself to bring her back to Konoha, even if she was willing, she'd better provide good answers.

The hall they finally entered smelled of age, stone arches held the roof, tapestries and statues decorated the wall,while a large chandelier illuminated the room. The throne was apparently empty, while a man they assumed was Kaisho the All-seeing was sitting by a large table, with Tsunade on his left and Shizune on his right. While Kaisho had a mixture of a pleased and calm look on his face, and Shizune was generally happy to see Jiraya, Tsunade had a substantially darker look on her face, and a small sliver of gladness to see her old friend again.

"Ah, welcome Jiraya-san. It's good to see you again" Kaisho greeted in a friendly tone, while Jiraya smiled back and bowed.

"It's good to see you again as well Kaisho-san" he greeted back. "Hello Tsunade, Shizune"

"Jiraya" Tsunade responded in a flat tone, while Shizune nodded with an apologetic smile."I see you've brought some brats along. Isn't that Orochimaru's former apprentice, Anko?" Tsunade asked, tone never changing, even when she noticed the visible flinch. "Good, I could use her help as well. And who's the blond brat?"

At this point, Naruto, who was gently massaging Anko's shoulders to calm her down, almost snapped. This was the Legendary Tsunade Senju? The woman they were supposed to bring back as the next Hokage? Talk about a disappointment. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was a drunken gambler or something

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze" he snapped at her, which did bring about the desired effect, and a surprise.

"Did you just say Uzumaki? Are you by any chance related to a Kushina Uzumaki?" Tsunade once more asked, hope obvious in her voice. Now curious, he slowly nodded, only to be startled as Tsunade leaped from her seat and grabbed him by the hand, drawing him away.

"No time to explain, follow me." and she went off, leaving a somewhat stunned Jiraya and Anko.

"What was that?" Anko managed to mutter.

"Damn me if I know" Jiraya replied, scratching his head and trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Thankfully for him, Shizune was there to offer some help.

"Just follow them Jiraya-sama. It's much easier to show than explain" she demurely explained to the puzzled pair, as she guided them to a bedroom not that far away. Imagine Jiraya's surprise when he saw a crying yet thoroughly mad Naruto kneeling next to what seemed... Kushina Uzumaki? And... Kushina Uzumaki?

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Anyway, this was somewhat enjoyable to write, as I love describing old cities, along with interesting combat tactics. There will be one more chapter in this arc, and I intend to reveal most of the secrets held back here, along with a decent explanation for the cliffhanger here :P

I seriously hope you enjoyed it,and please read and review.

And as a final note, here's an explanation on the two new moves shown.

**Dance of Ruin : Death of A Thousand Cuts**

Attack Move

Kenjutsu, Dance of Ruin (Quicksilver), Wind Affinity required

The user projects a highly unstable shell of wind chakra around the blade he uses, creating a hundred little razor-blades made of nothing but wind, proceeding to use shunshin and chakra-enhanced mobility to lay ten times one hundred blows across various bodily areas on his victim. The attack has great armor penetration, most blows temporarily stun the target through sheer pain, and can only be stopped by large amounts of chakra, or a weapon as powerful as the one the attack is formed on.

**Dance of Ruin : Glorious Heaven's Dividing Edge**

Execution Move

Kenjutsu, Dance of Ruin (Quicksilver), Chakra Muscle Reinforcement

Forgoing any other enhancement to the blade, the user focuses all of his strength into his hands, coiling every muscle in the body to give the maximum of power in the crucial moment of launching. The attack itself is usually a lightning-fast diagonal cut that severs the upper from the lower torso. Normal armor and weapons stand no chance of blocking or deflecting the attack as it relies more on pure force than anything else. Only a person of immense strength, armed with a very powerful weapon could hope to stop it. Once all the built up power is unleashed, the user is propelled at ridiculous speeds leaving no time for anything short of a miracle to happen as the blades swings down on the victim. The only problems are the fact that it strains the muscles and tendons of legs and arms greatly, possibly leaving the user incapacitated, and it also uses a good deal of chakra to stop the user after dealing the blow.


	17. Ruins of Whirlpool : Breaking the Seal

**Author's Ramblings:** You'll probably notice that for the entire story, I made a point not to display Jiraya peeping on women, or acting like a complete lecher, opting to allude to his perverse activities instead. That's mostly for two reasons.

First, I honestly despise that kind of people, as I consider certain rights (like being free of voyeurs) to be sacred, however, I also avoid making him into an, ehm... moral pillar of the community, mostly because by all means he isn't one. He's a veteran of almost as many wars as Danzo, and only slightly less experienced than him, but with far greater connections and skill. I find it hard to believe that that kind of man simply went around trying to grope every women in sight just because she had nice looking tits. (forgive any sexist-sounding remarks here, they were hardly the intention)

The second reason is very close to the one mentioned above, Jiraya is a professional ninja of about forty years of time, to whom, very much like Kakashi and Hiruzen, such activities are a lifeline to his remaining sanity, as like many of the other ninja in the story, he fits very well into the gray areas, while still going towards the light. So basically, he's a pervert who writes porn to stay at least somewhat sane and deal with the stress and guilt of having likely hundreds of deaths on his soul. From that point of view, it actually makes sense to let him get away with it, then to unleash him maddened and broken, with an arsenal of skills well specialized to deal with vast numbers of troops... or say, cities. Imagine what a highly powered fire jutsu would do to the civilians of any of the normal villages?

As noted, this will be a chapter with mostly thoughts of the characters, and conversation.

(AN within an AN(Keep in mind that this section is mostly a part written before most of the chapter was done, so there might be slight inconsistencies))

* * *

_Chapter 17 : Ruins of Whirlpool : Breaking the Seal_

It took Naruto mere moments to recognize the two figures in front of him. And that's part of what didn't make any sense. How could there be two Kushinas? It simply didn't make sense. That is, until his mind at least somewhat calmed down, and he began hearing Tsunade's explanation. Seals, and from both what she said and what he had seen, only one name came to mind : Orochimaru. The array was an incredibly complex one, and it was impossible to tell at first sight what it did, but there were telltale signs that told him everything else, and with Tsunade's medical findings he knew exactly what he was dealing with, at least as far as the main array was concerned. He remembered the picture back in his home, taken mere weeks before he was born, and she looked just the same, which was impossible for a span of fourteen years. Strangely enough, he never even noted that his mother was completely naked while contemplating all of that. From all he had gathered he could safely argue that the sealing done on her was a stasis one, that kept the body in cold sleep, but also prevented it from aging for even a moment. A Stasis seal like that could keep a person frozen in time for centuries, only to release them later on, completely unaffected by the passage of time, as if mere moments had passed for them, however, in this case, it wasn't the only seal in the array, as some even allowed outside forces to affect the body. But that mattered little to him right now. It was the second information that truly enraged him. Beneath that seal, his mother was half-dead, infused with a number of highly toxic substances, some of them snake venom, plant toxins even mineral poisons, a truly lethal concoction that would drop an elephant dead within seconds, let alone a human being. Orochimaru liked playing things safe, and the stasis that kept the poison from circulating into the body, making it a perfect failsafe. The moment they would break the stasis seal, his mother would be sentenced to death. By Orochimaru's actions. The following plans to annihilate any trace of the snake's existence while tormenting him for days on end were easy to understand.

The second woman seemed to be a younger copy of Kushina, who while staying mostly silent, spent her time taking care of the older one. Considering the activities Orochimaru indulged in, it actually made sense that she was a younger copy of his mother, as he didn't put it past a mad genius like him to master such a feat, or to perform it. For all his will however, he couldn't bring himself to care as to what his objectives where. His eyes were focused solely on his mother, and tears were slowly flowing out. For all his life he wanted a family more than anything else, in recent months that wish was tempered by his growing love for Anko, but to know that his mother was alive, if not well... and to know that there was someone responsible for separating them. There would be hell to pay and he would find a way to save her, that much he promised, and Naruto never went back on his promises.

Tsunade watched the boy sadly as she explained her findings to him. She also didn't mention that Kushina was rescued by the younger version for the simple reason of the location she was rescued from, an underground complex belonging to Orochimaru, and mostly used for experiments. On people. Something she also had zero tolerance for, as most of her new healing techniques were developed using either her own body as an object of study or extensive research to cover for it, and in a few truly desperate cases, where patients were at a dead either way position, she tried previously untested procedures if it gave the patients a chance to survive. She didn't go around kidnapping people and vivisecting them to increase her knowledge. And the look on the boy's face told her he shared a very similar, if not worse opinion of her decidedly _former_ teammate.

She wasn't a saint, she knew as much, she was an alcoholic, a chronic gambler, and had trust and commitment issues with her home due to the simple fact that she lost almost all of those she cared for there. The only ones left were Jiraya, who was out of the village most of the time, and Sarutobi, her sensei, but there were still wounds from him as well, and wounds she had dealt Jiraya, and all over Orochimaru, because at first, she trusted the snake more than she trusted Jiraya, labeling him as a pervert and as being jealous of the short affair the two of them had, only to later find out that Orochimaru wasn't nearly as nice and kind as he'd made them believe. Of course, the fact that her sensei reassured them, and later on didn't believe her when she first told him what she found out didn't help maintain the same fate she had in him. It took finding the laboratory belonging to the Snake Sannin to lift the wool of the old man's eyes, and even then he couldn't bring himself to stop, or better yet, kill his student. It was a mistake they all paid for dearly. And now this mistake had probably destroyed the life of one of the few people she truly respected in her long life, Kushina Uzumaki. Oh, she knew her well enough, and the sheer determination and grit (or stubbornness as some would claim) the woman was _legendary_ for was a part of it. Her kindness and devotion to her friends was closer to a sibling's or a mother's than a friend's.

And then there were the parts she was ashamed of, that were the reason that Jiraya no longer greeted her with his usual gusto and jokes that she had to admit made her life a lot brighter. That, and there was the satisfaction of whacking him in the head when he acted to perverse for anyone's liking, which, she had began to doubt over the years, he probably did to make her feel better. And then she just abandoned him, just after she learned that his prized pupil, the boy he loved like a son, had died sealing the Nine Tailed fox, instead of staying and at least offering some comfort and aid, she invoked her traveling rights as soon as the situation at least seemed stable and left the village with Shizune in tow, effectively crippling the medical care in the village, and very likely leaving Kushina to be captured, however it happened, leaving her son at the mercy of the village. And she did hear what happened to the young boy, but she didn't connect the dots at the time, being to deeply immersed in her own losses or drink.

She could safely argue that there were three potential reasons she could be called back.

The first of those, would be to stand trial, while not very likely, her escape hadn't won her many friends on the council, and while her great skill was her strongest argument, to them, it was more of a commodity, unless they desperately needed it for themselves. Politicians were like that.

The second, would be if they needed her skills. This scenario seemed to be the most reasonable one to her, and while she would probably have to hurry in that case, she certainly wasn't leaving Kushina behind a second time. What was left of her principles had been hardened by the years, and leaving a patient behind was something that she would not do.

And then there was the third, to her probably the most unreasonable. Sarutobi was a man in his years, quite old, and honestly, he had lost a lot of the edge he once had, and it was possible that he wanted a replacement. She knew full well that he didn't trust Danzo, and for good reasons, and very few others apart from her and Jiraya were good candidates. And honestly? She thought Jiraya was a better candidate for a hokage, but she would serve as a better political figurehead, as the Senju clan was deeply respected, even if it was essentially dead, with her being the last surviving member, and being past the age for bearing children, even with her vast medical knowledge. It was at that time that an idea came to her mind. As distasteful as it sounded, Orochimaru for once may have had a usable idea that didn't require maiming and mass murder. But there was a lot of work to be done first. And peace to be made as well.

"How did the two of you end up here?" Jiraya surprisingly politely asked Shizune, while Anko remained silent, feeling left out of the conversation since she knew very little of the girl.

"Tsunade-sama got called by an old friend, Kaisho-sama, requesting her help for an unusual medical case" Shizune kindly explained, the small pig in her arms oinking in agreement "But when we got here, we saw the two of them... and it made no sense. According to the tests, both of them are Kushina"

It was at that point that Anko decided to wisely insert herself into the conversation, seeing that she at least knew _something_ of the actors, and it would do her good to be on the good side of her probable future mother-in-law, if only by knowing her better and trying to help her son.

"Wait, isn't Kushina Naruto's mother?" she probed, an action noted, but uncontested. Jiraya simply nodded before continuing

"She is, but she also vanished from her hospital room, half dead from giving birth to Naruto when Kyuubi attacked, only to reappear here, equally half dead from what I can see, only with added poisons, isn't that right Tsunade?" he quietly asked, dragging her into the conversation as well.

"Uhm?" she turned before replying "Poisoned, and very badly at that. However, she also still has all the markings of a mother that had recently given birth, meaning that she spent about a day at most before she was sealed up like this. Most likely still unconscious from the sedatives that are still in her system" she spoke in a business-like voice, careful to hide any emotion. "And that leads us to the woman that brought her here, the second Kushina Uzumaki in all but age" she quietly added, as the younger red-hair turned towards them with a slightly worried face, as if worried that they were going to hurt either her or her older twin.

"C..Can I help you somehow?" she asked in a scared voice, worried by the analyzing look sent by Jiraya who had by now noted the seals on the older Kushina's body, and just like his student, completely ignored the fact that she was naked, kept warm by a thin cover and several warmth seals set up by Tsunade. The fact that she was in stasis apparently didn't mean that her body couldn't be hurt, simply that it couldn't age or be active. Wounds, poisons, disease still accrued once she was out of stasis and back in the normal flow of time.

"Would you tell us your relation to her?" Jiraya asked in a fatherly tone, calm, warm and eternally patient. The girl nodded before beginning her tale. By now Naruto had mostly recovered from his rage, and was being hugged by a worried Anko, who was whispering words of comfort, while internally swearing to tear her dear sensei a new one... with a rusty spoon.

"It's actually quite strange. My given name is Keisei, I was born twelve years ago, a child born from a tube as I would later learn, a mere copy of another person originally. It was strange at first, seeing an older me placed on a metal slab, all covered up with seals. At first I asked the man who was obviously to me at least, my father, Orochimaru if mommy was okay, while he would simply smile, and say that she was sleeping. I was actually raised rather well I suppose, being well thought by him as he needed me to be an agent of some sort." she stopped for a moment, remembering a better time, but then frowning again " That was until I learned exactly what he did to the woman who was my mother and to me. He needed an identical copy of Kushina, to the point that even her soul matched, so he made that seal to separate half of her soul and built a body from her cells around it. From what I gathered from the papers Orochimaru left behind, I am what he calls a clone."

Jiraya was calm, but serious the entire time, as he listened in detail what was done to the two of them,looking for any sign of falsehood in her statements, almost hoping it was there, since what Orochimaru did, basically sentenced the two of them to death unless a miracle was pulled. A soul was not meant to be separated, but if proper force is applied, it's not that difficult to do. Creating said force was though. Since the soul was torn in half by seals he recognized, it made sure that if one part of the soul died, the other would join soon as well as the part that left for the afterlife drew the one that stayed behind from the body it was in in an attempt to become whole. Souls didn't simply vanish, as a few deities apparently took great care about things like that. In any case, unless he could find a way to complete their souls, which was pretty much impossible within the realm of his knowledge, the two of them would die as soon as Kushina was released from the seal. Not exactly a cheerful prospect. Still there were a few others who might know more, and ridiculously enough, one of them might be Naruto. He decided to go at this one step at a time.

"Alright then, you're related to her... that would make you her sister? Daughter?" Jiraya asked in a mildly confused voice, but still mirthful, which brought a slight chuckle from Tsunade. Most of the tension was broken, but Keisei was still slightly worried how her remaining relative would react. To her pleasant surprise, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to face Naruto's brightly smiling face. He didn't mind.

When it came to people, Naruto wasn't the type to spend hours considering whether they were trustworthy or not, he simply went with instinct. While that might be a foolish direction for a normal man, to him it was a finely tuned sense developed over some seven years of almost daily practice, even further enhanced by his lightning-quick intellect and an ancient demonic fox stuck in his belly. Keisei, for all her strangeness at the moment (something that he couldn't rightly blame her for), seemed to be a decent girl, and considering that she's her, well, mother's clone, she likely has the same or at least a very similar personality as her, and from what he'd learned about her, he certainly wouldn't mind having a younger sister like that. And damn it all, he'd figure out a way to save them both.

"I certainly don't mind having a younger sister" he cheerfully added, eliciting a wide smile from the girl who immediately jumped on him and hugged him, not noticing a slightly evil grin forming on his face "or an aunt" he lightly jibed, instantly provoking a reaction from the girl,as she playfully bonked him in the shoulder, and bringing about another round of laughter.

"I prefer sister" she happily persuaded him "Aunt makes me feel old" the comment of course brought another wave of chuckles from Jiraya, Shizune and Anko, while Tsunade's mask finally began cracking up a bit.

Naruto let go of his newly-appointed little sister, to take a closer look at the seals covering his mother

"Oi, Ero-sensei, could you talk to Tsunade about the reason we traveled this far north while I take a look at what that snake did to my mother?"

"Hai, hai, I will don't get your panties in a twist" Jiraya replied, inwardly groaning about the disrespect of youth "And stop calling me that will ya gaki?"

"And should I call a chicken a duck as well?" he quipped back as he once more turned his attention to the seals.

"Keisei? Could you help me a bit here?" he kindly asked as the others left the room.

"That's some apprentice you've got Jiraya" Tsunade soberly commented as the two of them shared a drink in one of the studies that Kaisho offered them to use.

"He's one of a kind" Jiraya seriously responded "If I had to guess, in about four or five years he'll surpass me in skill"

"Still, are you sure it's wise to leave him to check the seals? Prodigy or not, there's no chance that.." she asked, but was quickly interrupted

"Right now, the only people I know of who at any point knew more than him about seals are Orochimaru, me and Minato. And I'm pretty sure that will change very soon. Besides, he needs some 'family' time. You don't learn that you have a mother and sister every day, no?" he replied to her worries, fully aware of her concerns "He'll be back in a couple of hours, likely along with a very accurate description of the seal, along with a few holes he couldn't decipher, and with a decent idea how to handle it. If he doesn't, I'm sure that his furry friend will be more than willing to help him out, so I'm basically stuck here discussing old times with you. Scary, isn't it? " he teased. He had decided to give the woman one more chance, since she had at least given the boy back his mother.

"Yeah, it is." came her answer, already giving up on being worried about some things. She stopped for a moment "You never told me exactly why you came Jiraya"

Said man sighed, showing the weight of the age on him "Sarutobi sensei has asked me to bring you back to be the next Hokage" he finally spoke as an uncomfortable silence descended on the room. Tsunade had a pained look on her face, as the title reminded her too much of the losses she had suffered. Her fiancee, her younger brother... not something she was fond of remembering. Before she could respond, the door suddenly opened, and Naruto and Keisei entered the room.

Shizune had plenty of reasons to smile today, so she did just that as she joined Anko for a stroll on the fortress ramparts. Anko had been rather quiet for a while now, seemingly in thought, while maintaining a light conversation with Shizune, mostly retelling the news about Konoha, and a small smile was etched on her lips when she retold what she heard of Naruto's involvement in the battles. Shizune listened intently, half awestruck half disbelieving at her descriptions of Naruto's feats of skill.

Anko on the other hand enjoyed talking about what was fast becoming her favorite subject, and the crazy blond she loved was quick to provide new material for gossiping. She also found Shizune to be a kind person, one of those who gladly offer their shoulder to cry on, and yet she knew rather well that the girl was not to be underestimated, any medic worth being called apprentice by the Slug Sannin was to be feared.

"That's a bit too much Anko-san, while I believe that he's Jiraya's apprentice and that he's good, what you're saying makes him a jounin at least" Shizune jokingly commented, but the smile faded quickly when she noticed the serious look on Anko's face

"Think so? So did a lot of others... most of them ended up dead, or captured" she stated in a quiet tone "Catch him off-guard and he's as good a any other chunin, if not a tiny bit better, but let him fight on his own terms, or worse, give him time to prepare, and it's a completely different thing. And that's before he gets really serious." she deadpanned "Besides, didn't you hear? He singlehandedly routed the army that was invading, and killed two chunin along with them... all without a scratch. Don't get me wrong though, unless he's trying to intimidate someone he won't begin talking about it. He'll just say something along the lines of it being his job." Anko finished her statement, leaving absolutely nothing to complain about. Not that a rather shocked Shizune had any ideas how right now.

_(12:00, Konoha, Office of Ibiki Morino, ANBU Headquarters)_

_'A great day indeed' _Ibiki mused as he finished writing the last report. The joy of finishing work by noon was something he hadn't felt in what seemed to be years, and to think that he actually finished everything, broke one of the surviving thee of the Sound Four, as the two others accepted amnesty in return for all of their knowledge on Orochimaru and knowledge of all of their ninja skills. It was a good deal for Konoha, as their rather unique skills actually could be replicated. Both Tayuya and the weird pair of Sakon and Ukon were wise enough to understand one simple fact: Now that Orochimaru didn't need them, they were a liability that would get killed at the first opportunity. Why not ensure that the bastard gets a much harder job while evading some of the more unpleasant jail locations, or worse, public execution? Heaven forbid...

There were of course several other reasons for merriment. Cho and Sei, the pair of Earth ninja delivered by toads were more than willing to say everything after just a few hours of persuasion. While he was abhorred by the pitiful training, he certainly wasn't about to complain about people making his job easier, and the freshly updated maps and numbers were always useful. With all the military buildup during the past few months...

Finally finishing up on this rather boring job, he decided it was time to handle his pet project of the last week or so, and headed off to the archives while checking up some of the folders in his hands. Much to his dismay, the feeling he had was right on target. Something was going seriously wrong in Konoha, and he'd be damned if he didn't find out what.

The ANBU archives were more of a subterranean warehouse then they were a room, as row upon row of shelves kept far too many reports to count. If one didn't know what they were looking for, they could spend a years here without finding it. Walking along the dimly lit lanes, he slowly counted off

"Seventy-five...seventy-six...seventy-seven. This should be it" Ibiki quietly spoke to no one in particular as he enumerated the shelf rows while he passed them, stopping by a completely inconspicuous one(all of them apparently were) and entering said row. The twenty meters of shelves covered with scrolls, stacks of paper and tomes of varying width contained the information he was seeking. Now, all he had to do was dig it up. Simple, no?

_(16:00, Land of Whirlpool, Nadere)_

"I figured out the seal" Naruto shortly announced to the pair in front of him while Keisei was slightly worried. She watched him study the seals on their mother _'Kami how weird that sounds',_ and she had to admit that she was completely impressed. Naruto remained completely focused on the seals only writing things down in a small notebook every now and then. The look on his face betrayed the perfect concentration in which his mind worked, a state which had room for one thing, and one thing alone: the breaking of the array on Kushina's body, and her salvation. It was something that she could appreciate, being trained in various ninja arts for years by Orochimaru. She never did figure out why that madman took such good care of her, but she did find out that he needed Kushina to open a vault door somewhere around here, most likely in the very fortress they were in. She shook herself out of her thoughts as Naruto continued speaking

"So?" Jiraya quickly asked

"Full body stasis, the snake bastard's a miracle worker. The main array keeps my mother in stasis, while at the same time allowing such details as drawing out a blood sample, and affecting her with medical jutsu. How the hell he did it is beyond me, I had to identify what most of those life arrays did just by studying their effects, so I made sure to copy them all. It is possible to break open or unlock the seal, and that's where the trouble comes in. Should it be broken, the seal will force her body to flash through all the years she spent sealed, giving the poisons plenty of time to kill her, and leaving us unable to do a thing. But if it's unlocked, nothing happens, apart from the seals breaking down entirely. Still, for that I'd need an amount of Orochimaru's chakra to serve as a key, and the only sample we have is in Anko's cursed seal." Naruto reported to a calm Jiraya and a completely stunned Tsunade. Keisei, after watching him work for the better part of an hour wasn't overly surprised by how much he managed to gather

"Have you finished the research on the Cursed Seals?" Jiraya once more inquired, keeping a calm mask, but inwardly laughing his ass off at his old teammate's reaction. The thoroughly shell-shocked face was worth it.

"Hai. I have an almost fully developed method for removal. However, I also have an alternative in mind that will not only eliminate the Cursed Seal from Anko, but will also allow me to harness Orochimaru's chakra from it, and use it to open the array." he stopped for a moment "And that's where my plans hit a snag. I lack a proper ability to neutralize poison" he added with a downcast face.

To his surprise, it was Tsunade who spoke next

"Are you sure you can do that without harming Anko or Kushina?" the veteran medic asked, only to receive a quizzical look from Naruto, as if asking her if she was crazy.

"I don't know about you Tsunade-sama" he slowly said "But when it comes to those who are precious for me, I play to win" he added as he walked out.

"You know something you old perv? I like that kid of yours" Tsunade commented with a wry smile "If he can do what he said, I'll come back to Konoha. At least with people like him around, things won't get boring"

"That much you can be sure of" Jiraya jokingly responded before getting up and leaving. As much as he didn't want to, he still had some work to do. Tsunade threw one last look on her old friend before getting up herself. She had work as well, if she was going to be of any use.

Anko felt reasonably nervous when she her boyfriend asked her out of the blue to talk about something important. Shizune had already left, and the two of them were alone on the ramparts. The cold winter wind that was blowing made her grasp the coat that was keeping her warm, and draw it even closer in an attempt to keep at least some warmth from the frigid weather

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she quietly asked, tucking most of her face under the collar of her coat. Naruto softly smiled before putting his hands around her, letting her bask in his warmth.

"Promise me that you'll let me finish before trying to kill me?" he asked in an almost jovial voice, to which Anko merely snorted.

"I'll take that as a yes. After Kami knows how many attempts and time spent researching, I've figured out how to break your cursed seal. I was planning to make it a surprise for when we get back home, but I have a big favor to ask of you now."

"Go on" Anko whispered, barely keeping a lid on her emotions. Could he finally rid her of the brand that's been messing with her life for so long? Will she finally be able to move on with her life?

"I need to do the, well, ritual now if I'm to save Kushina. I need Orochimaru's chakra that's stuck inside the seal in order to disable the other one" he explained, while Anko kept listening.

"Are you sure it will work?" she hopefully asked him, almost disbelieving that she could have a chance at her freedom from it.

"It will. I promise" Naruto quietly added, a smile covering his face once he saw the one on Anko's.

"Then I'm all yours loverboy" she answered, and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him in for a kiss. "How does it work?" she curiously asked after their lips parted.

"I rip out all of his chakra from your seal, overload the inert remains with converted medical chakra, send out Orochimaru's chakra into the other seal, and Tsunade takes over from there." he quickly explained.

"That sounds simple. Why hasn't anyone tried it yet?" Anko asked keeping a rather bemused look.

"Because you need several highly complicated arrays to make it even possible. I accidentally came across two of them while digging through my father's book, and figured the rest from there" he responded "Come on, let's go back inside. I'll do the whole thing in the morning, but I think we can persuade the owner of the place to get us a free room for the night, eh?"

"I second that!" she added in a much happier tone as the two of them left the ramparts, laughing.

Tomorrow morning found the two of them lying closely embraced on a bed, covered by a thick blanket, both barely dressed in anything, and both completely awake. Anko spent her time tracing the lines of various self-made tattoos on his skin, most of them various seals serving to enhance his already formidable abilities. He on the other hand, was content to lie down peacefully with Anko's head nestled in the crook of his neck. And he hated the fact that they had to get up very, very much. With an annoyed sigh, Anko was up first.

"Come on Naruto-kun, we both have to get up. Work to do and all that" Anko offhandedly commented as she got up to get a shower. The room was pleasantly warm, as a currently invisible heating system kept a stable room temperature, high enough for both of them to walk around lightly dressed, even if it was winter. The manor belonging to lord Kaisho was a comfortable place, even if it was somewhat large, it had a homely feeling to it.

With a light groan, Naruto got up as well, and went of to perform his morning rituals, laying a single kiss on Anko as she went out. Surprisingly, the room they were given was more of a suite than a room, as it contained it's own bathroom, along with a decent sized bedroom/living room, the whole set most likely meant for visiting diplomats or dignitaries. He walked into the small bathroom which had all the basics and moved into the still-steaming shower, quietly letting the warm water soothe his body. He really wasn't in the mood for anything other than this, as even his empty stomach opted to stay quiet, letting him settle his thoughts for the day ahead of him

'_Let's see, first there's the ritual, breaking Anko's cursed seal, unsealing Kushina, spending some time with Keisei, talking with Tsunade about improving my medical skills a bit. Yep, that's it for today._'

Nearly fifteen minutes later, he turned the water off, and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. He peeked out and noted that Anko has already left. He walked back into the room and got dressed in a hurry, all the while mentally checking if he still had everything covered for his work.

Anko was nervous, and understandably so. Her life was changing, and for the better, ever since she'd met a kid that saved her life several months ago. Much to her pleasure, a single bad mission ended up improving her life in more ways than one. The shell she hid herself in ever since Orochimaru betrayed her was breaking apart, and her old self, the girl she had been before was slowly returning. Apart from when she was at work or in combat, the more sadistic part of her personality was gone. One could even go as far as to say that she was once more becoming normal, according to ninja standards at least.

She lazily twirled the spoon in her cup of coffee, watching the mesmerizing whirlpool her action created. '_Whirlpool. Great, now I'm connecting things like a lovestruck schoolgirl. What's next?_' she wondered as she pulled another sip of the hot beverage. Coffee was a commodity here in the north, and it was only her status as one of those who helped liberate the city that provided her with access to it.

She was quickly joined by said boyfriend, and the small kitchen was soon filled by the smell of breakfast.

Keisei smiled as she joined the young couple for breakfast, happy that the young man who had accepted her as his sister had thought of her as well. Her older brother, she mused that she'd have to get used to it, not that she minded, had prepared a plate of food for her as well. Jiraya watched the proceedings from a safe distance, a ghost of a smile present on his lips as the soon-to-be family bonded. It was a rare sight these days, as the world knew very few moments of such peace. His only regret was that there were two people missing there, something that he would probably blame himself till the day he died. He had little doubt that at some point in the predictably near future Naruto would propose to his girlfriend, and with his immediate family growing, it should prove interesting. Also, he reminded himself, he'd need to make sue certain factions don't get any clever ideas. He owed his pupils that much.

Several hours later, the whole group was led by lord Kaisho into an underground chamber, walls covered by eerily glowing sigils. In the middle, all the necessary supplies were neatly stacked together, and a pair of clones was depositing Kushina Uzumaki on a blanket on the floor until Naruto could finish preparing the necessary arrays.

Unsealing the papers he needed, Naruto once more rechecked everything before starting under Jiraya's watchful eye, as this was his show, and the grizzled veteran was there just as support. The first set of seals functioned as a barrier, keeping all the chakra that would be released from the two bodies sealed within the room, followed by a second that would serve as a conduit for Orochimaru's chakra into Kushina's body, along with a container for it to delay the second portion of the ritual so that Anko could be properly checked up and healed if necessary. The second set of arrays were there to strengthen the bodies of the two women, even if it was only temporary, it helped with the process. A third set surrounded the area where Anko was supposed to be, and it served to rip out Orochimaru's chakra, while a smaller array sent it through the barrier-conduit. A fourth surrounded the ground where Anko was supposed to lie, with the express purpose of helping Anko's healing after that chakra was removed, and making sure that it all went out of her system. The final two arrays were highly complex chakra amplifiers, made to enhance the effects of any medical jutsu applied by either Tsunade or Naruto. All in all, his most complex word to date.

From his perch inside Naruto's mind, Kyuubi watched the proceedings with a hint of pride, as the boy-turned-man created something that few twice his age would have the skill to make, and the combination of seal arrays wasn't that far off from the one his father made to contain him. Part of him wanted nothing more than to once more freely roam the lands, to smell the sweet fragrance of the spring winds, to explore the world once more. But he gave up on that a long time ago, when he accepted that his immortal life would end the day Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze died. He chuckled lightly at the thought. Perhaps death, no, change would not be such an unwelcome experience at some point. For now though, the world of human interaction was interesting enough to keep him entertained. He smelled the winds that blew across the mindscape and made a mental note to thank the boy. '_Wildflowers'_

Near the borders of the city a pair of shadows moved quickly with a goal in mind, careful not to attract attention. Which, considering their attire consisting of black cloaks with red clouds was quite a feat.

Anko was slightly nervous as she lied down in the middle of the array circle. It didn't help that Naruto asked her to remove any upper clothes from her body so that they wouldn't interfere. Strangely enough, the two males in the room didn't need any effort not to leer at her revealed body, both watching the events with a hint of curiosity, Jiraya occasionally explaining some of the seals to the others, while Naruto spoke soft, comforting words as he finished the last seal that went around the curse mark on her collarbone. A short look at his eyes told her that everything would be fine, those calm, determined eyes that she fell in love with.

"Love?" she asked in a soft tone, instantly bringing his look, along with a gentle smile to her

"Yes?" he replied, ready to do anything to make her more comfortable. The smile didn't fade when a hand snaked it's way around his neck, pulling him closer

"When this is all over, I'm rewarding you for everything" she whispered to him with just a hint of lust in her voice, just enough to bring a grin to his face. He shook his head lightly, and still grinning went to work

"Are you ready lady Tsunade?" he asked in a professional tone

"Hai, just get your part of the job done, and I'll do mine. A little warning though, it'll be a day or two before she's awake after this, her body was under a lot of strain, so she'll have to rest."

"How long before she can travel?" Jiraya asked, trying his best not to sound heartless, and holding an apologetic smile to Tsunade.

"Her? I'm giving her two days tops before she gets out of the bed screaming from boredom" Tsunade noted in annoyance, a number of chuckles quickly following.

"Well, here goes." Naruto softly spoke as he began channeling his chakra into the array.

Keisei watched the events with a childlike curiosity. Orochimaru, for all his faults was an excellent teacher, and while he taught her the basics of sealing, it had _nothing_ on what her older brother was pulling off. Taking an alien chakra from one body and using it to open the seal on another? She doubted the idea would have even occurred to her. She noticed that Jiraya was also impressed. And if her hunch was right, that was no small feat. She watched as the ritual began.

Out of all of them, the person least focused on the events was Tsunade, although even she had to admit that Naruto's rating as far as she was concerned was up and climbing. She was busy watching over all of Anko's vitals to observe as Naruto used the array inscribed around the seal to rip it open and remove all of Orochimaru's chakra from her body. She was also too busy healing the relatively light amount of damage to hear Anko's grunts of pain as her own chakra flooded the seal, along with her medical chakra, permanently burning it off.

Naruto grunted as well, as he controlled the extensions of his own chakra that formed the barrier which kept Orochimaru's chakra in one piece, just the way he needed it to finish his work.

"Tsunade, how is she?" he grunted out, hoping for a bit of good news

"In perfect condition, although she's out of it for now." she stated, popping a single chakra pill into her mouth "I am ready for the second phase. Proceed"

"Understood." Naruto responded as he began moving the vile energy towards the body of his mother, more accurately towards the seal that covered it. He had studied it in detail, locating every single trap he wove into it and planting a counter to it, even the strengthening seal, which couldn't be maintained on a moving body was there to help her endure the effects of the final trap Orochimaru had set, the many poisons that still coursed through her veins. Just as Tsunade moved to her, he channeled the chakra into the seal, forcing his own chakra to work as a control for it. He smiled when he felt the array breaking down without any unforeseen effects, and watched Tsunade go to work neutralizing poisons. He let out a tired sigh as he let go of all save the seals that helped Tsunade keep his mother alive, while he himself made plans how to help out.

For all his impressive intellect, Tsunade found Orochimaru to be a complete idiot at times. One such time was now, as she discovered that quite a few of the poisons he used were simple to eliminate, or worse (for him), actually served to force the organism to fight against the stronger ones. A poison that would kill a normal man would have trouble with the body of a shinobi, as they conditioned their bodies to survive against constant damage, something that made healing their bodies from almost any ail much easier. It did help that the body subconsciously molded chakra to help out the healing effort. A wry smile crossed her lips as she began drawing out the poison, all the while maintaining a strong flow of healing energies into Kushina's weakened body. Her smile vanished in an instant as she felt a small capsule dissolve into Kushina's bloodstream

"Naruto, we have an emergency! Jiraya said that you could create healing chakra. Can you do it now?" Tsunade shouted

"How much and where?"

"Give as much as you can and channel it into her entire body"

"Got it. Sensei, maintain the Strengthening Array, I can't do both at the same time" Naruto ordered, and Jiraya obeyed without question, maintaining the faltering seal as Naruto prepared to do his work, but as all of his senses screamed that normal healing wouldn't be enough, he decided to go for the overkill, and pray that things turned out right.

"**Radiance: Overflow**" he intoned as his eyes once more flared blue, only to shift into a bright green moments later. The entire room was now flooded with healing chakra, all of it focused on every living entity in the room, most notably Kushina.

There were more than a few surprised eyes who watched Naruto float of the earth, lifted by the incredible amounts of energy he had been releasing from his body. However, the light soon changed from the radiant green, into a far darker one, as Kyuubi's chakra mixed with his own impressive reserves. There was no malice, no hatred, no inhuman pressure that took the breath out of your lungs, only a warmth, very similar to that of a mother's embrace covering them all. A bright light hid the entire room from the sight of all, and soon, Naruto knew darkness once more.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Well, that went in a completely different direction from what I originally planned, although I'm beginning to like it a bit more than what I had in store. Still, the next chapter will be the ending of this entire arc. And yes, there will be a good old-fashioned brawl somewhere within. However, there will also be an entire part that will have nothing to do with Naruto directly, as I feel a need to address certain other issues.

Anyho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and no, I don't know when the next chapter will be coming out. Right now I'm in a bit of a bind with my college, so that takes precedence.

I would also like to apologize for the fact that 'With But a Pull of the Strings', the story I started writing, will not be coming out tomorrow (most likely, as in 95 percent chance.). In the case that there is a miracle of some sort and I finish it on time, it will be published.

Once more, thanks for reading and all the luvin'. Till next time...


	18. Ruins of Whirlpool : A Farewell Long Ove

**Author's Ramblings: **A short notice before you begin reading: I've decided to reveal a few details and to completely give up on any jinchuriki forms for Naruto. I want to make him different from any of the usual depictions. (Also, I intend to reveal a few other potential skills and powers for him, but you'll see.). Second, the terms Ki and Reiki (Ki being the same as Chi, not an abbreviation for killing intent) are used to describe the energies that comprise chakra, and will be used sparingly from here on to explain Naruto's powers... when he decides to do so.

I'd also like to note one thing about the Akatsuki. If you're expecting the idiots (yes, idiots) who mess around during their fights, you will be sorely disappointed. Their representation here will be a group of quiet, and utterly lethal, _true_ shinobi. A shadow in the night that takes away a life without leaving a trace behind. Some infighting? Yes. Downright hatred between them? Maybe that too. But folks that waste their time arguing in the middle of combat, or who don't even cooperate with their partners (think Hidan and Kakuzu, those two could have obliterated the teams sent against them had they not underestimated them and spent their time arguing and showing off). No. While I also have no intention of displaying the Jinchuriki as weaklings, the Akatsuki won't be weak either.

* * *

_Chapter 18 : Ruins of Whirlpool : A Farewell Long Overdue_

_(12:00, Whirlpool Country, Nadere, Estate of lord Kaisho)_

Kushina Uzumaki awoke to what was probably the worst headache of her life, blissfully unaware of the time that has passed since she lost consciousness. She rubbed her aching head, trying to remember where she was supposed to be. Yes, the Konoha hospital. Then why the hell was she in her old room in Nadere? As far as she could remember she had given birth a scant few hours ago, and yet, her body was in rather good shape. She then remembered exactly what had happened before she lost consciousness _'Naruto, oh Kami no, I'm too late. Damn it, I have to protect my son'_

This rather kind and motherly, if a tad late line of thought was interrupted by a small cough coming from a worried Tsunade who had noticed that she was awake

"Calm down Kushina" she spoke in the most calming tone she could muster, and being rather nervous didn't help much. How do you explain the events of the past fourteen years to a woman for whom time has effectively stopped?

"T-Tsunade? Why are you here? Didn't you leave a week ago? More importantly where is Naruto? Where is my son?" she asked in panic,

"Jiraya, I'm going to kill you for convincing me to do this" Tsunade muttered as she calmed the woman down to explain to her what happened during the time she was in stasis.

Unlike his immediate family and friends, Naruto was apparently far less fortunate, as Keisei, Jiraya and Anko found out. In the middle of the chamber used to perform the ritual now stood a large, sapphire blue crystalline structure that served as a tank of sorts, connecting the floor to the ceiling, and suspended within it's liquid was Naruto, still unconscious. It was easy to see that he was breathing, even though he was completely submerged within. The crystal was nigh indestructible to normal means, as Jiraya, rather painfully, found out.

"Any ideas how to break him out of there?" Keisei asked in a rather worried tone

"I'm not so sure that it's a good idea" Shizune offered "That fluid inside has a very high concentration of chakra, so breaking it open might be dangerous to him"

"True. Still, there's one even worse thing. How do we explain this to Kushina? Tsunade said that her body is recovering at an insane rate, and that she should be okay within hours instead of days. And Kami knows you don't want to be on the receiving end of her rage" Jiraya shakily commented. He certainly remembered what happened the one time he accidentally (as weird as it sounded in his case), peeped on her. Minato had to hold her back while he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Not a pleasant prospect that.

"So he's stuck in there and there's nothing we can do?" Anko asked, a hint of sadness and helplessness present in her voice. How many times did he help her, and now that he needed help she couldn't do anything.

"Look!" Keisei shouted as she pointed at a few symbols that began appearing in the air outside the crystal.

_'Will be out soon' _the symbols clearly spelled out before fading away

"Bloody little genius.." Jiraya muttered under his breath as a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

_(Within Naruto's Mindscape)_

It would be curious for an outsider to watch the rather chaotic landscape of Naruto's mind. For now, the verdant plains were gone, replaced by a number of broken rocks floating within a maelstrom of chaotic energies, a light very similar to moonlight illuminating the twilight world that Naruto and Kyuubi were now in.

It would also be interesting that they were playing chess, and contrary to the usual, Kyuubi was being beaten to a standstill. There was a third fact to note however, one that was probably more important than all the others. There were a total of four Narutos present, each one unique in a way. The first of the them was dressed in his white coat and wore the mask that signified him as the White Wraith, rather than Naruto, and instead of talking, he mostly released unintelligible, but bone-chilling sounds and hisses. The second was a childlike depiction of him, bearing that real, million-watt dazzling smile that could melt the heart of even the most coldhearted of people A third stood nearby, sparring against the first, bearing the Song of the Wind unsheathed in his hands as he stopped every blow, a hard, yet warm look on his face. And then there was a fourth one, the one who sat down with Kyuubi and played chess, easily beating the ancient fox at every step. He bore a cold, calculating look, hardened features of a man that has seen decades of war and survived, not a boy of fourteen. In his eyes glinted an intelligence that frankly scared Kyuubi, one that was no longer tempered by an mortal limitations that even he was subject to.

Whatever limits he may have had, Kyuubi was ancient. Ages of experience taught things that raw intellect could not surmount, as the quantum leap in logic lacked the information and pure chaos to work. Cold, mechanical logic had it's flaws, as it was completely incapable of inductive reasoning, an advantage that the Naruto he knew over the last fourteen years was very quick to use.

The four figures were unique each, and his reasoning came with the conclusion that they must represent important, no, crucial parts of him, broken from the whole when the whole mess went to hell in a handbasket. The White Wraith, a physical incarnation of his killer instincts, a heartless monstrosity that lived only for pain and killing. The Guardian, or Protector, which term you preferred, an image of his desire to safeguard his home and precious people. The child, which represented what innocence and kindness he had left, along with his ability to bring out the best in others. And finally Logic, the cold part of him that provided his rather impressive intellect, and now that it was untangled from the whole, was even more dangerous. He knew that none of the four, not even his innocence were to be challenged as they all possessed a strength equal to his own, most no longer constrained by the presence of others, and in combination they were him. Thankfully all four of them agreed that they were part of a whole, and they would reunite, but there was a part that scared him deeply. _A part was missing_

The healing ability he invoked scant hours ago drained him both physically and mentally. There are things mortals are not supposed to be able to do, and rebuilding souls through the use of one's own spiritual energies was one of them. _'And to think, all it took for him to draw on all that power was his desire to save them. Funny how things turn out.'_

The drain had effectively sent his mind into a forced coma, as the human body wasn't meant to function on zero Ki, and the logical part of his mind took over, forcing the failsafe measure that even now protected him. All that came at a rather worrying cost, as it shattered his mind into the now present components which stood before him. The problem was, once they began reuniting, there was a good chance he'd become the fifth part, completely surrendering all of himself to his mind.

Now, to take things into perspective, to an ageless being, the concept of death was even more abhorrent than to an ordinary mortal. Even worse, a loss of self was downright horrifying to him, even as the light compulsion to belong began settling in, the result of the given word not so long ago. A word given in good will, was binding to a demon, something he knew once he gave it. He did not expect this to happen though. Mortality was a rather interesting concept to be observed when you're unaffected by it.

"It's almost time" the Guardian Naruto stated

"_Five more minutes until we all merge. What is your decision Kyuubi?_" Logic asked in it's cold, mechanical voice

"Don't worry, whatever happens, you'll still be there" Innocence added, that bright ever-present smile reassuring whatever doubt might have been there

Wraith merely hissed at him, a white, near-skeletal hand raised in a threatening manner.

"_Four minutes. Will you join us, or will you stay behind? We cannot force this choice_" Logic once more asked.

"**I will stay behind**" he calmly responded _**'And do some work of my own, this is a far too valuable opportunity to waste' **_Kyuubi inwardly added, waiting for them to depart. An oath was what he had given, and oath was what he would uphold, even at the cost of personal sacrifice.

_(13:00, Nadere, Seal Chamber)_

For the second time this day, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze had trouble working with the information she was given... she accepted the story that Tsunade had given her, especially after Jiraya confirmed it, as much as she didn't want to, her husband was a master of seals, and she had seen first-hand of what they were capable. But what was no in front of her pretty much surpassed everything she saw. The chakra-saturated fluid within the tank had begun swirling madly, the color shifting between a light green and a crimson red as wisps of energy snaked around Naruto's body within the crystal. Out of all of his clothes, only his pants survived, and even they were badly burnt by the energies. A mute scream disfigured his features, forcing a cringe in all those present as a trail of bubbles fled from his mouth.

"What's happening to him?" Kushina asked in a broken voice

"Damn me if I know. But I'm willing to bet Kyuubi is behind it" Jiraya answered stoically. The surface image, was just that, an image, hiding the internal turmoil in hopes of keeping the wife of his late pupil calm

The water soon stopped churning as the figure within adopted a far calmer pace of breathing, and a pair of shining blue eyes opened. Symbols one more began appearing outside the crystal.

'_Stand back, I'm coming out_' they spelled out before vanishing.

Eyes widened as Naruto's hand rose from it's place at his side, now extended forward and facing the surface of the crystal.

As Naruto spoke mutely again, his lips unreadable for the ripples around him, the crystal and the fluid within receded, slowly melting away into nothing more than pure chakra that was quickly absorbed by Naruto's body. A few pieces broke off, falling harmlessly to the ground as Naruto collapsed to a knee while breathing heavily. Before he could even get a chance to speak three figures had already reached him, his mother, his sister and his lover, all of them enveloping him in the warmth of their bodies as they hugged him, chasing the chill he felt within the crystal away

"Kami, that hurt like hell" he muttered in a tired voice, as a low chuckle escaped a pair of lips suspiciously close to his ears "Not funny hime" Naruto added in an annoyed tone bringing out full-blown laughter from those around him. A small smile crossed his lips at the sight of what remained of his family, as his eyes fell on Kushina and Keisei, while he felt Anko's hands snake around his shoulders in a strong hug.

"I'm not going anywhere love" he commented as he placed his hand on top of hers.

"I know. But I'm still not letting go of you" Anko retorted, laying a single kiss on his ear. "Now move your ass, I want to meet my future mother-in-law"

A number of suppressed chuckles escaped at the comment, along with a groan from Naruto. Why must women be so... troublesome at times? _'Damn, now I'm becoming another Shikamaru... just great. Can this day get any worse? Well, at least I get my family' _a wide smile forced it's way to his lips at the thought. Family, the one thing he never had, the lack of one thing that damaged him more than anything else in his life. He had long since forgiven both of his parents for his lot in life, and was truly looking forward to seeing whatever could be salvaged back together. He pushed back all of the memories of pain that screamed at him, trying to accuse anyone of the suffering. The past will stay in the past. He would not let it rule him.

"Hey mom" he near-whispered to the woman before him, a warm smile adorning his face. At this moment, Kushina couldn't find the words to speak, and chose to let her actions do the talking as she embraced him, tears falling from her eyes while she sobbed. She had many doubts of this moment, all born during the past hour or so. He could have easily rejected her, and considering that she wasn't there his entire life, she didn't have the right of being called his mother, and yet he used the term so easily, so naturally, as if she'd been there the entire time. It was comforting, heartwarming. She knew that Minato was dead, she knew he would be even before she lost consciousness all those years ago. But her son was alive, and as strange as it sounded she also had a daughter. The instincts of motherhood were going a bit haywire over the situation, but she found out that she didn't mind having two children instead of one, even if things were... complicated for the lack of a better word. Seriously, how does one behave in a situation like this? _'They adapt' _she mused as she lifted a hand to wipe away the tears and gestured to Keisei to join them as well.

Lord Kaisho had long since chosen to retire from the room, leaving the people to enjoy their moment of closeness, something he believed would be wrong to intrude upon, and Jiraya, Tsunade and Shizune agreed, so the four of them left them to talk in private. They weren't the only ones however, within Naruto's mindscape, a certain fox went to sleep, leaving the boy behind with those close to him.

Naruto sat down after changing to more comfortable clothes, sitting only in pants, regardless of how entertaining it was to some, wasn't a good idea in the middle of winter. Anko soon came back with both tea and sake, though he chose the former. They were back in his and Anko's room, sitting wherever it was comfortable.

"So it's been fourteen years" Kushina tried to start."Naruto, Keisei, I'm..."

"Don't" Naruto stopped her attempts at an apology. "It's not your fault, in fact I know exactly whose fault it is, and he's already on my hit-list. So don't fret over it. If you could have been there, you would have been there for me, and if this hadn't happened, it's very likely that Keisei wouldn't be here" Naruto explained his reasoning with a half-bitter smile. Kushina couldn't help but smile back

"Do you know how much are you just like your father? It's scary" she lazily commented

"I get that a lot. I've never met my father, so I make my guesses from what people tell me about him" he quietly replied.

"Who's his father?" Keisei curiously asked, her own gap in knowledge at least somewhat understandable.

"My late husband, Minato Namikaze" the older woman answered in a somber tone. "The former Forth Hokage of the hidden village of Konohagakure."

"Ah." Keisei eloquently returned, and an uncomfortable silence descended on the room. It was a strange sentiment to all of the three females in the room, each of them feeling like they didn't belong. Kushina because she was absent for all those years, Anko because Naruto had found his family, and she felt like she was intruding, and Keisei because she felt that as a mere clone she didn't belong with them. Naruto noted the awkward atmosphere and decided to do something about it.

"Why don't I cook us something up? I bet you're hungry after all that time" he jokingly stated, instantly breaking the tension. Anko licked her lips in anticipation, remembering just how well her lover cooked. Now there was something to look forward to.

"I'm fine with that" she cheerfully added, while Kushina raised a worried eyebrow. If he was so much like his father, would he be as miserable a cook as he was? She shivered at the thought, turning to her, well, daughter, and the girlfriend of her son. Anko she remembered a bit, it had been a year before the Kyuubi attack that her family was killed during a high-profile mission, so Minato personally made sure she was taken care off. But that was the last she remembered of her. Now, that little girl of so long ago had turned into a grown woman, tempered by her life and hardships in ways she could only begin to guess. Keisei was little better, a grown up not by her choice, if her features were anything to go by. Just how much had she missed? Still, better late then never..

The kitchen proved easy to find, and even easier to work in. The problem came however, when Naruto attempted to remember the recipe of the dish he planned to make. It wasn't that he couldn't remember the recipe, far from it. He remembered it in vivid detail, along with almost every one of the five instances in which he prepared it, down to the smallest details on how he chopped the vegetables or cut the meat, the small changes that came from different amounts of spices, and many other subtle inflections which would normally be lost on him. Standing dumbfounded with a large knife in his hand, Naruto tried to remember the process of making a standard exploding tag, and found that he could recall it perfectly, from the first time he sat down to make one, to the last one he made a week ago. Along with that, he had a perfect mental image of the array, all of the small seals and connections which went into it, as well as a mental list of the amounts of chakra he used to activate it, along with the results. It was like having a working library, along with a librarian sorting things out near instantly. Out of curiosity, he tried it with one more subject, the few parts of Bingo books he read, remembering Kakashi's entry. What he remembered was every single detail, sorted by relevancy all down to the editions of Icha Icha he saw him reading, compared to those he saw printed.

Suffice to say it was an enlightening experience. One he already knew who to... _'Considering he probably saved my ass and helped out with my memory, blame would probably be a bad choice of words'_

**_'Quite correct.' _**Kyuubi's voice echoed in his head **_'You did something during the healing which nearly shattered your mind. Thankfully, your head does a good job at fixing itself, otherwise you'd be gone by now. How do you like the, ehm, upgrade?'_**

_'You rewired my brain... just how the hell did you do it?__**' **_Naruto asked in a mix of curiosity and annoyance.

"_**It wasn't all that easy"**_ he admitted "_**But the moment your mind separated itself into parts, it became somewhat malleable. From that point onward it was merely a matter of forcing a trait to surface."**_

_**'**__And here I thought you built something new__**' **_the young man jokingly stated as he sent his body on auto-pilot to make lunch.

"_**Very funny boy. You read too many of those stories were demons give mortals strange gifts beyond their limits. Even immortals can only do so much with such a frail form. If it wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to coax it out, a similar thing went with your elemental affinities, you already had the seed, my presence merely forced it to grow. Now, if I may offer a piece of advice, try using that Chakra Art of yours on a larger array of seals**_' the ancient fox explained and advised.

'_There is something else first. You said that my mind separated. Explain, since I obviously don't __remember._' Naruto calmly demanded, and was much surprised to be met by silence.

"_**I should not have let that slip" **_Kyuubi spoke in a low tone "**_Understand this Naruto, what I'm about to tell you stays between the two of us."_**a short mental nod later, Kyuubi once more began "_**When Tsunade asked you to give healing Kushina your all, you did just that. The ability is called Forced Resurrection, and it fuses demonic Reiki to the human one, while channeling both directly to the soul of the target, rather than the body. You literally ripped two pieces of your own soul, used it to reform the halves that Keisei and Kushina held to two full souls, and then used an amount of my Reiki to restore your own. The fact that you purged a dozen deadly poisons from your mother's body is a joke compared to this."**_ he ranted on "**_You managed to reforge a soul into two, something not meant to be done by hands both mortal and immortal, and you did it on pure instinct and desire"_** another pause, which Kyuubi used to calm down,and let the message sink into Naruto **"Y_ou also managed to separate your own mind and soul in the process, into four distinct parts, each of them an avatar of the most important parts of your personality. However, there was a fifth part missing, and I have no idea what it is, but that's the part you used to restore their souls, and that's the part you rebuilt using my energies. In other words, your soul is now part demonic, meaning that your Reiki is also part demonic now. In other words, you'll find it a lot harder to mold chakra\'_**

Naruto remained perfectly quiet for the entire time, analyzing the given information with great care, and then sorting it out as needed.

_'What are the other consequences?' _he asked. Kyuubi smiled, his container was quite smart when he wanted, or needed to be.

"_**While it will be a lot harder to form chakra, it will be more potent, so once you manage to reach this level again, it should be far easier to use chakra-consuming jutsu. Also, there is the fact that your chakra will be by all means truly unique, making it far easier for any tracker to find..."**_ he explained before adding a personal, mental note _**'Better not tell him about them yet, Kami knows what they would do if roused now of all times'**_

With a final sigh, Naruto returned his focus to the food he was preparing, only to notice that he prepared about five times the amount needed, and that there was a crowd gathering around him, all interested in the food. He also noted the rather worrying looks on the faces of some of the women, so with a quick move, he gathered as much food as he needed, while leaving a number of shadow clones to keep cooking. One woman was still more than he could handle. Two or worse, more than that? Now that, would be difficult. A quick thought brought forth another plan, and another pair of clones took the remaining food while he began summoning a pair of toads to help his plans. If nothing, he should have probably informed them of these events, being a summoner he had someduties after all. Still, it had been hard, not to mention painful to perform any of the jutsu he normally used without problem. Whatever happened in the chamber was a serious issue, and if he had problems performing the simplest of jutsu outside combat, what would happen if he was fighting? Naruto truly hoped that he wouldn't have to find out.

When the terms Jiraya and Field day come to mind, one usually images him peeping on a bathhouse, or writing his infamous books. Today however, was far different. He wasn't sure if Naruto had any idea just what he pulled off, but he wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth.

On the outside, nothing had changed, but it was on the inside that the real effects showed. Years of ninja life and his various vices, some by choice, others by need, had taken their toll on his body, as the decades of slow poisoning sapped his strength, speed and flexibility. Heck, he knew that even his bones were more brittle than they once were.

Now? A smirk covered his face as he jumped from roof to roof... without having to resort to using chakra. He still felt the weight of his years, bit it was considerably lightened. He didn't have to guess, as Tsunade did a quick scan of both their bodies. Whatever Naruto did didn't remove the effects of the years, merely all the negative side-effects of their ninja lifestyle. Tsunade was feeling it as well, as the years of alcoholism,lack of physical exercise, and sheer battle damage had damaged many parts of her body, which were now in almost pristine condition. It would be almost like they were raised under complete isolation from all damaging influences, while still having the benefit of a body reinforced by them.

The first thing Jiraya did was get rid of his supply of tobacco... well, most of it, he kept the small stash of the really high-quality stuff for his old sensei. He certainly didn't want to waste this new-found strength on something so trite.

Tsunade had come to a similar decision, dropping her monthly supply of sake to a mere bottle. She too didn't like the idea of losing her strength once more.

The others showed far lighter effects... it did help that they were all between twelve and thirty, with Keisei and Kushina being the youngest and oldest, respectively. If she had to guess, Kushina was at still at her optimal level of strength, while Anko, Shizune and Keisei would see little to no benefit. For once, being old was an advantage!

Apart from those that were buy cooking for an army, a second squad of Naruto-clones were busy in the seal chamber, along with the pair of toads, consisting of Ma and Pa, both rather curious of the events, one group gathering and analyzing the remaining crystals, a second one putting down the effects, appearance, leftover chakra signature, pretty much everything concerning the crystal tank he had created. It was hard, tiring work, as the change affected his every skill, and even the clones had lost some of their mobility along with the usual chakra sensing skills he relied on. But it would be worth it. If such an ability could be developed so to be of use to heal others... the opportunities were endless, and even the elder toads agreed on it, willing to offer some assistance on the research.

_(15:00, Nadere, The Old Ox tavern)_

Two shadowy figures occupied a table, well distanced from any actual light sources. If anyone bothered to observe them, they would find that beneath the rims of their straw hats they were utterly formless, just a faint glow of eyes surrounded by darkness. However, no one did observe, for this was one of the seedier taverns, in one of the poorer districts, with watered-down drinks, and waiters that could probably gut you as easy as serve you. In places like that, people made their job _not_ to notice such details as someone's face unless it was obvious that they were going to skip pay. If they didn't know, they wouldn't be able to lie once asked, and they lived longer... simple really.

But back to the subject at hand, the two figures were whispering with a third one that had just joined them, a servant in his late thirties, and with the exchange of a small bag for a few whispered sentences, the trio parted ways, the servant suddenly at a loss as to why he was there in the first place.

_(18:00, Nadere, Estate of Lord Kaisho, Guest Rooms)_

A smile graced the face of Kushina Uzumaki as she observed her new family lying down, sleeping. She wasn't much better herself, lying down on the second bed in the room, barely awake.. Naruto was still too tired from the aftereffects of whatever he did that morning, and Anko was also slightly sleepy from the removal of her cursed seal. The two of them had lain down together by reflex, while Keisei chose to sleep in the comfy recliner she was sitting on. That left her the only one awake, but she didn't really mind much, since she had a lot to think about. Much to her sadness, neither of her children were in muh of a condition to talk, as Naruto was exhausted by the ritual while Keisei was tired from looking after her for days on end, finally getting a chance to rest up a bit. She reasoned that they would have all the time in the world once they went back home. Besides, the way home was long, and they would certainly camp at a few places along the way.

Taking one last look at them, she quietly closed the door of their room and walked out, tracing her steps down the sadly familiar hallways, where she once remembered her older siblings chasing her after hiding their toys, a long time before any of this happened. She made a small smile at the memory of her father chastising her for her unprincess-like behavior, and the skillfully hidden smirk that told her 'Good job!'. She once more walked pass the room that once belonged to her parents, letting a faint trickle of tears fall at the memory of her mother singing her to sleep. This place held a lot of memories, many of them fond, but some of them best left forgotten.

Keisei's words had struck a chord. Orochimaru had made a clone for two purposes apparently. The first one was easy to understand, as he wanted access to the vault of the Uzumaki royal family, which could only be entered by an Uzumaki. Blood was insufficient to open the doors, one had to be physically present and order them opened. A shame that she and Jiraya had already taken the liberty of emptying them all those years ago. The second reason left her dumbfounded though. Why for heaven's sake did Orochimaru want to learn about fatherhood or raising children?

'_Such thoughts were best left to other minds'_ she mused as she continued her stroll down memory lane. And her path guided her to the old, now-disused armory. Since lord Kaisho didn't need a personal guard stationed in the estate, it was no longer used. However, at least one of the family swords would still be hidden in the sealed recesses of the room. She had given away the Song to her son, it was his sword now. She'd make due with what she had available, just like she always did.

Naruto, much to his sadness, couldn't sleep. A rather sobering thought reached his mind during the day, as more and more confirmation of his now decimated control came in. True, he had developed a working style of kenjutsu, but it needed chakra to work properly. He had a good mastery of ninjutsu and fuinjutsu, but both needed stable chakra to work, his medical skills were similarly limited only to his usual field skills, which were limited to first aid and his knowledge of herbs and pressure points. The lack of chakra, something he certainly wasn't used to, left him a glaring weakness, one for which he would have to find a way to compensate. An hour's thought brought forth several ideas. Traps, a method of combat he very much favored, was one of them, but you couldn't counter-trap someone who ambushed you. Taijutsu was a close second, but he lacked the sheer amount of training people like Gai and Lee put into their work. He was a Seal Expert dammit, and even the seals created by his **Chakra Art** were to unstable to use, even if he could, theoretically at least, now visualize even larger and more complex arrays.

Annoyingly enough, that only meant that he would have to work twice as hard to get there. He could not afford such a weakness. And he would have to improve his kenjutsu skills to a level where he no longer needed chakra to fight, but merely used it as an added strength. His taijutsu also had glaring holes for anyone above chunin rank. But there was a third thought that very much brought a wicked smile to his face. Long practice in learning how to heal poisons had left him rather familiar with their effects, and there were more ninja tools than just kunai and shuriken. Senbon needles, a weapon he was particular to, was deadly when used with poison and pinpoint accuracy. It was very curious what he insertion of certain nerve agents to certain points in the body caused, and he only knew about five such combinations. He was willing to bet that Anko knew at least a few dozen, and that Orochimaru knew hundreds. Razor-sharp ninja wire, commonly used for traps was also deadly when combined with seals and/or simple trap mechanisms. And... it was quite possible to create trap-arrays even with his unstable chakra control. He would just have to improvise a bit. '_Such a shame I'm so bad at it.._' he jokingly thought as he stroked Anko's hair, bringing forth an unintelligible sound from her while she nuzzled into his chest. He threw one last look to the sleeping shape of his sister, and with a small grunt of pain, summoned a single clone to cover her with another blanket. With a final sigh and a small yawn, he went to sleep, one hand on a kunai beneath the covers, and a faint smile covering his lips as the clones in the Seal Chamber dispersed.

For the tenth time in the last half an hour, Shizune let out an annoyed sigh. While nowhere near her mentor's level, Shizune liked to gamble occasionally, playing for no more than small change. To her, it was more about keeping her skills fresh than about the adrenaline that the professional players felt, playing with small amounts meant that it was impossible to reach said levels of risk, and the practice of reading other people's poker faces was good for combat. The guards she was playing with proved to be little challenge, and while she won some and lost some, it held her interest for about half an hour.

Now, she was busy preparing the medical equipment Tsunade and she carried everywhere they traveled for the long trip to Konoha. She couldn't call it home anymore, as there was little left for her there. While she was younger, she focused greatly on her training, and much less on making friends. The few she did died in the last war, and with the death of her uncle, she joined her sensei Tsunade when she left Konoha.

Now, she was tired and bored, a rather bad combination for any ninja. And she only had another two scrolls to go through. Well... at least she sill had a bit of her own research to attend to. That part was fun. And Kushina's son seemed to be interesting. It wasn't every day that you see someone pull a stunt like that. Maybe he'd be willing to trade notes on it, because it sure piqued her curiosity.

_(23:00, Konoha, Hyuuga Clan Hold, Chambers of the Clan Head, Hyuuga Hiashi)_

There was a number of reasons why the Hyuuga clan was the currently most prestigious clan of Konoha. One of them was the fact that they were the only remaining clan that actually had the numbers to be called so, as most others were two or three dozen strong at best. A second one would be their rather dangerous and useful bloodline, the White Eye, or Byakugan. A third, would be their use of said eye, and the measures that generations of research with direct testing helped to develop. If there was one place in the entire village of Konohagakure that could not be eavesdropped or spied on from the outside, it was the so called Chamber of the Clan Head, which in appearance was nothing more than a glorified study. Appearances usually deceived however, as many spies painfully found out moments before their rather gruesome deaths. Members of the Hyuuga clan didn't take lightly to spies.

Within the chamber were a number of clan heads, all of them actually, joined by several others. Commander Wolf of ANBU, followed by Morino Ibiki, the elder, Homura Mitokado, Saito Yakushi, the head of the Konoha Hospital and finally Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage.

This was however, fat from a social gathering, regardless of the fact that it was disguised as one, the occasion conveniently being Hiashi's birthday, an event that out of courtesy, very few could avoid. Elder Koharu Utatane was one of those few, and with a very understandable reason, one that had a great deal to do with the 'purely social' gathering here.

With his usual regal bearing, Hiashi opened the discussion with a short, but meaningful question.

"Is this evidence certain?" he asked in his usual reserved tone, implying nothing more than the question. Ibiki Morino, the man directly responsible for the gathering of said evidence stood, and with a barely visible look to the hokage, which was answered with an equally visible nod, walked to the center of the gathering, preparing to speak of the information he had gathered during the past month or so.

"As you have all been made aware, during the past month, I have gathered information following the lead of a group of three ROOT agents, responding directly to Danzo. The scrolls on them contained a sufficient amount of information on Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Anko Mitarashi, and worryingly enough, Tsunade Senju to form a highly efficient assassination team to counter almost all of their skills, should the countries the scrolls were meant for receive them."

A number of gasps followed the statement that Danzo had committed a betrayal of said level. He was known as ambitious and ruthless, but to go as far as to eliminate some of their own stronger to strongest ninja by giving out information to foreign villages?

"The villages in question were Iwa, Kusa and Kumo" he added for more effect, waiting a bit before speaking up again

"I have the original scrolls here, along with their deciphered copies. Also, there was one more worrying detail. About ten years ago, Konoha was riddled with a number of disappearances, notable because they were of children. Of the fifty children that had vanished, I identified five as ROOT agents that were captured, and I can safely assume that there are more"

An awkward silence descended on the room. While most of them didn't like Danzo, he was always at least believed to be loyal. Considering the information he had at his disposal, he was dangerous.

"Danzo has become a threat to us all" Inoichi calmly stated

"Agreed" came from his big-boned friend "Considering how much he knows, what's to stop him from leaking it to others if we become a threat to his plans"

Murmurs of agreement came from the entire room, while Sarutobi remained perfectly quiet the entire time. With a small smile, he turned to his long-time companion and friend

"Homura, do you have anything to add?" he asked in his usual kind voice, a small sliver of entertainment barely slipping through. The smile on Homura's face was all the answer he needed, but the others should be informed as well.

"After we were presented with the evidence, myself and Koharu, under the Hokage's authority took the liberty of preparing a two-component poison for Danzo, the first half of which has already been administered by Koharu tonight. The two components, while kept apart, are completely inert, however, when combined... they are utterly lethal. She is still in a meeting with him, as the old hawk believes we are willing to spy on the rest of the council for him, so if it is your will, his life can be quickly ended whenever it is necessary by nothing more than a small needle." Homura added, much to the entertainment of some and the surprise and shock of others.

"Does everyone agree that he pay the price of treason?" Hiruzen sternly asked, receiving a number of nods in return.

"Good. Now, what do we do with the ROOT division? They are highly loyal yo Danzo and it might not be possible to remove the effects of years of indoctrination" he added.

"Might I offer a suggestion Hokage-sama?" Inoichi asked. Hiruzen nodded for him to proceed "There are several experts on brainwashing in my clan, along with several of my colleagues in the I&T department who know much on the subject. If nothing else, a group of five of us is capable of screening the ROOT members and determining who among them can be... for the lack of a better word, salvaged."

"A sound plan. Hiashi, would you be willing to lend a few of your family members to help out? Their truth-reading skills would prove invaluable." Hiruzen asked the Hyuuga head.

"I don't see why not, Konoha has already lost many to the invasion, and the ROOT forces didn't count among them." he shortly stated.

"Now that that's settled, on to the next subject."

_(08:00, Whirlpool Country, the gates of Nadere)_

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" Kaisho asked in a half-sad voice

"Sorry old friend, but we really can't" Tsunade sadly returned "However, I promise to come and visit"

"I suppose I'll have to settle for that" the older man retorted in a wistful tone, then brightened up as he remembered something "Here, I almost forgot" he pulled out a small chest "I believe you and your son and daughter will appreciate these as well Lady Kushina" he added as he passed it to Tsunade who opened the lid, revealing a set of seven sapphire blue medallions, each of them formed in the shape of the Whirlpool swirl, the symbol of the former dynasty that ruled the country for generations "Consider it a gift from a grateful people, they once belonged to your family, and I believe it's time they returned to it. And remember, you will always be welcome here." he added as he waved them off. A slight smile crossed the old man's lips as the group slowly departed.

_'Ah, kids these days_' he bemusedly thought as they went away.

"Jiraya, have you informed Sarutobi-sensei that we are coming?" Tsunade asked her old teammate as they walked along.

"Already done. Sensei knows that you've accepted the position" Jiraya answered "It should take us a full week if we travel like this.... hmm... well, we no longer need to hide. Naruto? Gimme a hand here"

His pupil nodded, and they both went through the handseals for a summoning, bringing forth two large armored toads, each easily the size of a house.

"Gamasen, Gamaraku good to see you again old friends."

"**Jiraya? What are you up to now old pervert? And more importantly did you bring cards?" **Gamasen bombarded him with questions, while the other, Gamaraku shook his head.

"Not this time 'Sen. We kinda need a lift to Konoha. Can you help us?"

"**Sure, just hang on tightly.**" Gamaraku answered his question with a wide grin, rather reminiscent of the ones Naruto made. Jiraya suddenly felt that there was a reason to be very worried, while his pupil kept whistling innocently. Praying to whatever god would listen and asking Naruto and Keisei to help Kushina, he joined the others in climbing atop the toads before they went off.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, here's another chapter of the story. I wanted to give Naruto one more ability for the road, so that was it. For those who didn't figure it out completely, it's pretty much Eidetic Memory, with Kyuubi acting as a librarian for a further analytical boost. Now go figure what that has to do with the seals created by Chakra Art

Also, Naruto's skills took a blow here, so don't be surprised at the fact that he has problems doing jutsu and such. The problem won't be seen much in his Shadow Clones, because he does it instinctively by now, but anything less than that will be... hard

Oh, and for those curious, there is a method to my madness in some of the things I write (the rest I'm completely insane, so that kinda helps too :D)

Ehm, one last bit. Don't ask me what the names mean, as they (most likely) mean absolutely nothing. I simply liked the way some things sounded :P

As an added note, if there's anyone willing to do some artwork (this is on a strictly volunteer basis, I'm a student with a very limited budget and no way to operate with cash online) for Naruto contact me and I'll send a very accurate description for the basis...

(_Edited on November 17th, 2009._)

This entire segment has been added because I feel I have to put things as simply and clearly as possible, to save both myself and yourself the bother of writing any further comments on Naruto's swamped chakra control and cliches on that account. Something I should have probably done ialready, but being the fool that I was, I obviously forgot

So let's clarify things a bit. Naruto **_DOES NOT HAVE A CHAKRA CONTROL PROBLEM_**. Now that that's out of the way, here's the real deal. He can no longer mold chakra as easily. Slight explanation for that follows. Ninjas first mold chakra out of Ki and Reiki, then use their control skills to apply it to something. See? Two different processes. His control is fine, but as a part of his Reiki is demonic now(one fifth to be exact), he has issues forming chakra since it hurts his unprepared pathways. That will pass with sufficient usage of chakra within a few weeks of his usual training, while his body adapts to it.

However, that doesn't mean that Naruto is helpless. He can still pull every jutsu he could before, but now he risks debilitating pain depending on how much chakra he uses. If he uses a lot, the pain messes up his concentration, and you can get a really big BOOM from a botched jutsu (I wonder what would have happened on a botched Spiraling Shuriken, apart from making it a truly Epic fail... hm, something to contemplate..)

An added detail, if you were concerned about Naruto negating the effects via Shadow clones, you're in for a small disappointment... the mess with his pathways is entirely _physical._ So clones can't fix that.

And no, to allay the fears of a few, Naruto won't be getting any demonic powers. Maybe try to mimic them via jutsu (if I decide to bother with that) but no fancy demon powers (and no tails or ears either!). I pulled the whole deal mostly to give Naruto something unique(he has a slightly different chakra now, as a fifth of his soul is now demonic, but that mostly gives slight changes to all he already does, rather than anything else), to give him a valid reason for learning Rasengan (which doesn't fit all that well into his fighting style) apart from it being his father's technique and to have a valid reason to introduce 'someone' later on


	19. Clash

**Author's Ramblings:** Give me a bit of credit people, I didn't go for the obvious (or already done) way so far unless it fitted well with what I wanted to do. I also haven't pulled any cliches just to artificially extend the storyline. I have sufficient ideas for at least as many chapters, so no issues there.

One important detail. I've only just now noticed a potential plot hole, so here's a bit of an explanation to at least try and fix it up

Anko is five years Naruto's senior, while Keisei is two years younger than he is. So, Orochimaru takes Anko as his apprentice in the wake of the Kyuubi attack, trains her into the ground for two years, and leaves her with a cursed seal on her neck after that and fleeing Konoha, presumably with Kushina's body in stasis. I'll reveal the actual events of that time at a later date.

I'm also giving a recap of the events that happened in Keisei's life. It's a shorter variant than I would have wanted, but still. Anyho, for those who wanted more of the family bonding, there wil be some

A note about Radiance. Naruto normally keeps the shape as a sphere around him, but he can force it temporarily to distort in a direction gaining him great range in a single direction for a short time

And a new chakra skill! Holding your straw hat on your head through chakra! (What? You can walk on walls and water, bring people back from the dead, but you can't hold your hat attached for infiltration purposes? That would be retarded)

One more detail... there might be a jutsu or two with the words Demon or Demonic in their name. Don't be mistaken, those aren't demonic powers, just people (me) liking fancy names in their jutsu.

So, without any further delays, enjoy the chapter

* * *

_Chapter 19 : Clash_

Much to Jiraya's surprise, the journey back proved to be uneventful for a long while. While surprised, Jiraya had long since learned to both appreciate and fear such times. Appreciate for the short times of peace, and fear for the storm they usually announced. Unlike when they first came here, they no longer needed to hide their presence, although with them breaking the siege at Nadere and the flare of chakra that Naruto released, he doubted there were many in the neighborhood who didn't know they were there.

After eight hours of traveling, even at the great speeds that the toads provided, they all needed a rest, especially Kushina and Naruto.

Within moments, a campsite was quickly erected, three earthen hovels, entrances facing each other, half-buried into the ground along with a small wall that had snow stacked on all sides to hide it from the outside. Shizune unsealed an amount of firewood, carried safely for such occasions within a scroll. The fortified campsite was ready. In the middle of the Borderlands, it was dangerous to stay still for long, for if it didn't attract bandits or rogue ninja, it attracted predators. While a ninja could easily kill a wolf or bear, there were far worse things hiding deep in the bleached-white wasteland around them.

With the fire going, it was warm enough to sit comfortably on a few blankets they had sealed, and Kushina decided to use the opportunity to talk to her children, pulling them both off to the side along with Anko, who she realized, would probably be an in-law soon, while the others resigned themselves to some warm food. Not a bad thing that...

"I've been wondering for a while now, well, ever since I woke up actually" Kushina started "How your lives went during all these years. What I wanted to say, is that I want to get to know you a bit better, and if you're still willing, to give this family a chance" she stated in a calm voice, while inwardly, she was scared. Scared of them refusing her. While every rational part told her that she wasn't to blame for being absent (and indeed, it was a wonder if Keisei would be there if she was), her emotional part was worried, as the mind didn't work on rationality alone, and there was a chance that they would. Said fears were quickly dispersed by a slightly worried smile sent by her son, and one that was a combination of affection and curiosity by her daughter.

Anko, for all her boisterous talking before, was feeling as if she were intruding once more, and had begun moving to leave, only to feel two hands on her shoulders, one belonging to her lover, and the other to the older Uzumaki..

"And where do you think you're going?" Naruto cheekily asked, attempting to keep a serious face, but a visible quiver of his lip revealed that he was trying not to smile and laugh. Kushina was grinning as well.

"I thought you said you wanted to meet your future mother-in-law dear" Kushina calmly stated while still grinning. "Well, you're getting your chance"

Dragged back down, Anko joined them in laughter. Even if it would take a lot of time for them to get used to each other and become a real family, together, they'd try. It was enough for her, for now at least. Having that loveable hunk as a husband in the foreseeable future wasn't a matter she objected to.

"So, what did you want to know?" Naruto asked, a bit hesitant, but still willing to answer any questions. It would only be fair, he had a lot of questions to ask himself.

"Everything!" Kushina enthusiastically near-shouted

"Ah.. guess I'll start at the beginning then. When dad died and you were... well, kidnapped I assume, the old man"

"Don't tell me you call Sarutobi 'old man?'" Kushina interrupted him, her face threatening to break into a laugh

"Not always." Naruto answered "but at times in private yes. To continue, Sarutobi-jiji had me placed in an orphanage, mostly because the vast majority of our dear councilmen saw me as the Kyuubi that had attacked them, and went out of their way to have me dead. From there, things went from bad to worse..." Naruto continued retelling his tale, omitting no detail he could remember from all of his years, all the few good times and the many bad, finally culminating with the events a few months ago, when his life finally changed for the better.

Kushina's eyes steeled at his story, her hand unconsciously gripping the hilt of the sword she had taken, a cold, murderous fury slowly taking hold. _'How dare they? After all he.. no we, had done for them to perform such a betrayal.'._ If Naruto hadn't asked her to calm down, promising that there would be a reckoning, and admitting that if it weren't for the small circle of friends that kept him sane, he would have broken a long time ago_._ The glares she sent in Jiraya's direction were no less friendly, though he at least ha a somewhat reasonable excuse, and if his information was correct, as much as she hated it, it would have been worth it.

Tsunade, who had overheard a good part of it was no better. He once beloved home allowed itself to become _that? _Kushina might have been swayed by Naruto's words, and his attempts to make peace for his growing family... but she wasn't nearly as favorably inclined. Heads would roll, figuratively and physically.

She didn't hold malice against her sensei. Sarutobi-sensei was old, and had lost much of the strength he once held, it was to be expected, but from what she heard from Jiraya, his mind had recently once more become a razor-sharp edge that brought far more fear than any of his ninja skills. During the Second Shinobi War, it were his stratagems and tactics that outmaneuvered, outsmarted and finally utterly defeated a then numerically superior Cloud/Rock alliance, but the loss of so many of his family during the ending of the Third war, and later in the Kyuubi attack dulled many of his skills, including some of his intellect. And to make matters worse, while he was now _bound_ by the laws and duties of a Hokage, his probably greatest rival to the position had no such qualms. Sticking a nearly broken old man into such a position and then blaming him when he couldn't do as good as he once did would be cruel.

"Well, I guess it's my turn now" Keisei shortly commented, still slightly disgusted by the behavior of the people of Konoha, whom she remembered that (AN: her father? Maybe?) Orochimaru had a very low opinion of.

"As I've already told you, Orochimaru created me twelve years ago, by separating a half of my mother's soul from her and forming a body around it. After that, I was raised with him on the go, until he founded Otogakure some six years ago, the first of it's bases being located within a canyon in the Rice Field Country. It was... unique, I suppose, growing up with Orochimaru as your father. He was gentle and caring, always making sure I was safe. From when he founded the village, he showed your body to me, and proceeded to train me as a ninja" she chuckled slightly at the idea"he told me you were poisoned, and that he had to keep you in stasis until he could find a way to cure you Kushina" she added, bringing a barely visible twitch to the woman's fingers "Anyway, he trained me alright, as ruthlessly as he could without killing me, stopping always just a small distance from killing me, always giving a warm smile as he told me how much I had improved"

Naruto found it strange to listen to about the man he had known to be a veritable monster act like a caring father, even if he did lie quite a bit, he had apparently taken good care of her for many years

"He also kept me strangely well informed about his plans, often talking to me about ideas concerning long-term strategies, though I figured out later that most of those were either already completed or in progress, the questions being solely for me to develop an analytical mind. He took good care of me, I even have with me a gift he gave me for my tenth birthday" she told, lifting a small scroll and unsealing a rather unique weapon. It consisted of a central ring, to which were attached two long chains, each of the links past the first dozen or so having a blade, with the final ones being large, bladed crescents. The entire weapon was forged from red steel, a rather expensive alloy of iron usually made by blacksmiths from Rock, but rarely used there sine it was good at channeling fire chakra, an affinity rarely present there."He also taught me how to use it." she added, a somber look now crossing her face "Life was beautiful until about a year ago when I accidentally entered an interrogation session that made my stomach churn. He had already explained it to me, but it still caught me by surprise, and nearly made me puke. He broke it off for the moment and brought me back to his office to calm me down, leaving me with a scroll to work on after he did. Then I noticed his journal. Curious, I began to read, skipping through pages until I found his entries around the day I was born." a single tear went down her eyes "It was heartbreaking to learn just what my 'father' had done in order to create me, but a part of me still loves the kind man he was to me. So I did what I could, acted like I haven't read anything, playing the shock off with the aftereffects of the sighting of the interrogation, and escaped with mother's body at the first opportunity, taking what I could in the process. Fortunately, Orochimaru took the time to teach me a few different clone jutsu, and that was a serious help in getting you out" she explained, pointing at her mother. "You know? I always looked up to you, wondering what you were like when I watched your body in stasis, cursing the bastard who poisoned you." Keisei sighed "While I was running away to the northwest, I came across the city of Nadere, and straight into the leader, lord Kaisho. The kind old man recognized Kushina and offered me, and by extension her, shelter, while he called Tsunade. The rest you know." she finished, idly twiddling her thumbs as she leaned onto her new brother, who merely helped her settle comfortably

Throughout the entire time, Anko was doing the same, all the time plotting to do something for Naruto to make it up to him for everything he's done for her, also listening. She was about to go next, until she noticed that Jiraya had tensed up.

Jiraya had spent his time thinking how to help Naruto prepare even better for the oncoming attack by the Akatsuki. With very limited information on the organization which was even more limited when it came to their membership, it was impossible to plan for specific enemies, rather forcing him to train Naruto for every eventuality... something he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do without sending him into the middle of a war.

Still, anticipation of battles to come would have to wait, as he had a few more... annoying problems presently: the rising headache that was his second apprentice. The boy was always in trouble, but this time he couldn't rightfully complain... one does not look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.

But he also couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed, so he did what made most sense, created a shadow clone with very little chakra and ordered him to lie in wait. An hour later, the feeling still wasn't gone, but the clone didn't notice anything. He now had reason to be worried. Instincts developed over years of war, and sleeping with one eye open, something that could go as far as being called a danger sense, were never mistaken. If they were, he'd be long since dead, as contrary to the rumors (some of which he himself planted through his extensive spy network), he was hardly invincible, and had more brushes with death than he cared to count... a kunai through one's head is quite lethal regardless of your skill.

"Tsunade, go for stealth and proceed." he quietly ordered in a voice that left no room for argument "Naruto, as much as I hate it, the two of us are staying behind to bait them. Kushina, Anko, Keisei, Shizune, help provide a secure passage for Tsunade. We'll meet you back home. Gamasen, take good care of them, and I'll get you a full barrel." he finished his orders, and all quietly nodded, before proceeding to their tasks, not once questioning his orders. Few did, unless he was joking around, and now wasn't one of those times. Within seconds, Tsunade, Shizune and Anko(under Tsunade's advice) had changed from their previous appearance into three young men with features greatly differing from their original ones. Kushina and Keisei soon joined them, and after the three of them gave one last parting kiss or hug (a bit to Naruto's embarrassment when Anko kissed him full on the mouth), the two groups parted

"How's your chakra?" Jiraya asked, not once moving his eyes from the direction he was expecting an attack, all the while going through the few handseals necessary to destroy their campsite.

"It's still hurts to mold it, but I can control it easily. Why?"

"Can you still do what you did during the preliminaries with your 'skill' and aim it in that direction?" he asked once more.

"Done." Naruto answered with a slight wince. It was nowhere near as easy as it used to be, but to his surprise, the image he got back was far clearer than he was used to. He made a mental note to test it once he had the time. Still, it was relatively easy to sense the two figures that were following them, even if they were trying to hide. The pain that followed it was an annoying addition, but he could handle it.

"Two figures,moving at high speed with suppressed signatures. No visible weapons on the first one, nor on the second one, though I can sense the faint forms of a set of scrolls, most likely storage on one of them. They are five minutes away at their present speed" Naruto quickly reported to a serious Jiraya.

"Cloaks and hats?"

"Cloaks and hats"

"Well they certainly don't waste time. No time to set any usable traps on my account. Yours?" the older toad summoner asked

"A few. I have enough time for them right now. A show of force I assume?" Naruto answered, ignoring the sting of pain from summoning a dozen clones and pulled out a scroll, unsealing five small bottles "Now this, will be of use" he murmured as he pulled out a number of senbon, passing the job among the clones with him, while the remaining eight began setting up traps, going from the strongest ones and layering sets of weaker ones over them. He was deeply thankful that his skills hadn't rusted any, and, probably thanks to the boost that Kyuubi set him up with, he found that making such plans was easy. Five traps, each with four layers sequentially firing off against whatever target came in, and all of them delayed by just enough to make them unpredictable. Five additional clones hidden beneath the earth with well suppressed signatures, and armed with senbon laced with paralyzing, tissue-dissolving and fast-acting laxative (yes, you read properly) poisons, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

The original stood with a pair of his seal kunai, blades extended by his wind chakra, a small bag of chakra and blood pills within reach, and a number of special kunai ready to explode attached to the inner sides of his coat. Two sets of his Triune Hunters scrolls, along with two others were attached to his belt. Next to him was Jiraya, with a single kunai loaned to him by Naruto, having summoned three more toads that took to hiding out of sight, in wait for a proper moment to strike

"It is. I think mist would be a fine addition, don't you?" he offhandedly commented, while Naruto proceeded to summon a fine mist which was saturated with just enough chakra to throw off their sensing skills a little. Every edge was valuable now. The idea brought a smile to Naruto's face, and he pulled out another scroll from the holder stitched in into the back of his coat. He threw it to Jiraya ho instantly caught it, and recognizing the storage seal, went to unseal it.

"Exploding tags? You do know that those aren't going to stop or kill them" Jiraya noted, while inwardly, he got the idea, but was curious as to how Naruto would argument it. The stack easily had two hundred tags

"One won't. Ten won't. But a hundred are sure to make their lives at least a bit harder..." Naruto flatly stated while he pulled out his own stack, ignored sting of pain from summoning another group of five clones, and handed the tags over, ordering them to hide. '_Any other tricks left? Nope, can't think of anything else._'

"And now we wait" Naruto idly noted, with his sensei absently nodding.

Kushina was worried. That came normally as a mother, but now she was worried more than normal, since she left behind her son to face Kami knew what, something that she for certain didn't like. But as much as she wanted to help him, even with all the healing, she was only good for traveling, and would most likely hamper more than help. She had been a ninja for far too long not to understand such things.

"Don't worry, he's going to be okay" Anko reassuringly stated, though whether it was to reassure herself or Kushina was open for discussion.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I trust him. And I believe in him. I know he'll return for me, and for the rest of his family" she solemnly stated, then a smirk crossed her lips "And heaven help those that stand in his way" she added, while Kushina shook her head in defeat. She might a well have argued with a stone wall... the effects were the same.

Tsunade had already set her plan into motion, as she dismissed the giant toad. For the boost in speed it gave them, it also made following them child's play, a luxury that they at the moment didn't have. All of them were henged into men, between ages of fifteen and twenty, faces covered with cloth masks leaving only the tops of their faces visible. Each and every member of the group (including, or perhaps especially Keisei) had years of experience behind them, so such a feat was rather easy for them. They were back in the borderlands between the Whirlpool and Fire countries, and it was an area best traversed quickly. The open lowlands, riddled with small hills and forests were an ideal place for an ambush, and the rather thick forest Jiraya chose for his was even better than average, leaving just enough room to maneuver. A standard tactic, but it worked well in the past, and she could only wonder what his pupil would do.

Naruto was slightly nervous about the encounter that was about to take place,so he went through a quick mental calculation.

He had next to no information on his enemy. Bad.

He pulled off every single thing that could increase his chances, without revealing too much of his skills. Good.

He couldn't properly mold large amounts of chakra. Bad.

But that didn't stop him from using the chakra already present in him and around him, leaving his Radiance forms in the game. Good.

The enemy was likely a pair S-ranked Akatsuki ninjas, out for his blood, meaning that they'd do everything in their power to separate them, and take him down alone... which would probably be easy for them. Very, very Bad.

'_Well shit. So much for that thing going well. Still, I have Jiraya on my side, that counts for something. I hope_'

The two figures finally arrived at the position within the forest where Naruto and Jiraya stood. Naruto focused the field on the two of them, forgoing any of the usual nonsense that applied to social situations, and scanning them down to their skin.

The two figures were imposing, both completely covered by the black and red cloaks that were actually very visible against the snow, and a pair of straw hats covered their faces, while the cloaks distorted the shapes of their bodies sufficiently to make it near impossible to recognize. No weapons nor tools visible. The chakra signature that signified a living being being present was almost completely absent, weaker than that of a civilian. Yet the speed at which they moved, the fact that they easily evaded Jiraya's surveillance and the position where they stopped, just outside the triggering range of all but the best concealed layer of traps told far more than their appearances. They stood perfectly still, not a single motion to reveal any plan, the only sign they were alive was the small amount of misted breath coming out of the shapeless forms that were their faces, and a pair of barely visible eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"Will you come peacefully?" came the voice of the left one, a raspy, distorted voice. _'Changed voice' _Naruto and Jiraya simultaneously thought. Naruto stalled for time for a few seconds, trying to give Jiraya an himself a few more moments to think.

"No" he finally answered. All hell broke loose.

Almost faster than he could react, the left one (Nine from this point until his identity is revealed) dropped his hands to the snow beneath him and a large mud wall rose from the ground, attempting to separate Naruto and Jiraya. At the same time, the right one (Ten, likewise) came at Naruto at great speed.

Invisible to Naruto, Jiraya quickly formed the Rasengan in his right hand, slamming it into the wall and obliterating it, while at the same time his few clones began an attack on Nine, throwing the full amount of exploding tags, numbering over a hundred at him, planning to corral him towards his associate.

Naruto's clones had already sprung into action, but over three quarters of those armed with tags were cut down immediately via a kunai wielded by Ten. He had less than a second to see the hand move out from beneath the cloak and cut them to shreds. The clones armed with poisoned senbon chose that exact moment to attack, aided by the field of Radiance present which made the smoke cloud created by the dispelling of the clones as easy to see through as clear glass.

Nine ignored the situation Ten was in, and proceeded to attack Jiraya, going for the position between him and Naruto. Just as he got close, one of the three clones of Jiraya began spitting out a rain of fireballs while a second slammed his hands into the ground, forcing a wall of earth to block him off. Nine rebounded on the wall, running up and jumping off, using the jump time and acquired height to bombard Jiraya with a rain of shuriken and kunai. Jiraya didn't have to guess that some of them if not all would be poisoned and instantly sank into the ground, leaving the now two surviving clones behind and going for Naruto. The two clones sent a quick breath of fire at Nine, who's body melted away into water and evaporated in the flames.

Naruto smirked beneath his white mask as the tags simultaneously exploded, but was ready as he knew that the explosion, even if it obliterated everything at it's center, wouldn't be enough. A single clone had managed to land an envenomed senbon into Ten's leg, but in the rush of memories, he found it hard to tell which poison mixture was it. Kyuubi thankfully was and quickly informed him

_'__**Muscle relaxant, it should buy you a moment or two**__' _the thought made it's way to his mind, causing an immediate shift in plans. With a quick move the two kunai in his hand flew, primed to explode on contact, while he jumped back, preparing the Triune Hunters set, a single scroll-kunai already jabbed into the ground.

Nine instantly joined the fray by jumping over the broken ruins of the wall destroyed by Jiraya a mere few moments ago, and immediately flashing through a short sequence of handseals, unleashing a hailstorm on needles from the darkness beneath his hat.

Naruto inwardly cursed as he sensed Ten moving to intercept him at the place he originally planned to jump to avoid the needles, so in turn, he jumped away, to the left, holding to the remaining part of the earthen wall, all the while going through the handseals to activate the scrolls. Ten once more charged at him, a pair of kunai materializing in his hands as they rose from beneath the cloak,each covered by a crackling energy that he easily identified as lightning.

"**Secret Art : Triune Hunters" **Naruto shouted as the three foxes took form, he managed to pull of the jutsu without as much as a flinch, but it would likely be his last one that way. A short last pulse unsealed Quicksilver from his right palm, just in time to snap the two kunai out of Ten's hands by using the holes on the side of the sword, while the Fire and Wind fox immediately went n the offensive. The Earth Fox had already charged at him. Much to Naruto's disappointment, the Earth fox was obliterated by a strong fire jutsu created by a now present Nine, and he realized that Jiraya was nowhere in sight.

'_Beneath me then_' Naruto quickly figured out as the two remaining foxes crashed into Ten, shredding the cloak and hat, but leaving no visible wounds to the person beneath them, and fizzling out afterward.

'_So the cloaks protect them. Damn_' Naruto inwardly cursed. The figure was still imposing though, even if the cloak and hat no longer distorted his shape. He certainly didn't know who it was, but the black hair, face covered with a spiraling orange mask with a single hole over the left eye and simple black clothes beneath were easy to memorize. A dry chuckle escaped the man, and it sounded.... he didn't have a word for it. It was like a sound you'd expect from a tomb door that was undisturbed for centuries opening, along with all the unpleasant connotations the image brought forth. However, there was one further detail that would be burned in his memory, when in that single hole in the mask he recognized a fully developed, three-tomoe Sharingan, leaving him with no more than a moment before it changed shape.

Somewhere from the back of his mind he pulled out the only other battle that had a strong Sharingan user in it he could remember. Kakashi vs Zabuza.

_'Sharingan, has the ability to read movements to the level of a moment's precognition through surface chakra usage, along with mild hypnotic powers through eye contact.' _he consulted what he could remember of the bloodline '_So, if the basic one had all that, this one is probably even worse! Not to mention that the abilities are likely enhanced. Okay think, I can't stop him from reading my movements without my Compression form, but I can stop him from directly messing with my mind_' the mental effort crammed into less than a second gave a result, and before his enemy could affect him, he shut his eyes. They would have widened if he didn't as he felt a massive chakra buildup now clearly visible to his Radiance vision, along with a second figure, which he identified as Nine doing pretty much the same.

All plans he could make went to pieces when he felt a third figure rising from the ground, almost fully concealed by the buildup the three of them had produced. Calculating that Jiraya would rise just beneath or behind Ten, he forced a shunshin, the pain finally beginning to wrack his body, and moved a few meters behind Nine, who had already anticipated that move and was turned to face him. Nine however wasn't going to wait for Naruto to do what he had in mind.

Before he could react, five kunai were launched at Naruto, forcing him to either block or dodge, as Nine flashed through a set of single-handed seals and raised a single index finger, pointed at Naruto

"**Lightning Release : False Darkness**" he spoke, as as a arc of lightning extended towards Naruto... only to slam into a instantly erected barrier just inches away from the boy's face.

"Fine. You asked for it" Naruto stated in a pissed-off voice "**Radiance : Compression**" he intoned in a flat voice as the entire field of radiance focused around his body, slowly forming into the somewhat demonic looking armor of crystalline chakra, no longer the pure, vivid blue, but a far darker one, like an ocean in a storm.

Jiraya took advantage of the distraction that Naruto's form changing provided to unleash a strong earth attack on the unmasked Ten, who jumped, only to be struck from all sides by earthen spikes that grew out of the ground, stretching like tentacles to stab him. Jiraya cursed when he realized that there was a log in the middle of the spikes rather than a bloodied corpse, though he noted a few traces of blood. So it did land a hit.

Right behind him, Ten focused his gathered chakra into a single strong jutsu

"**Fire Release : Demonic Bloom**" the masked man spoke, sending a single highly compressed sphere of fire at him. Jiraya had less than a second to use substitution and shunshin in succession to move from the range of the jutsu he, much to his horror recognized. The sphere detonated, blazing into a wide flare around it, incinerating everything, and sending out eight smaller spheres in random directions. Jiraya realized that they succeeded in their original plan, as they simultaneously forced Naruto and Jiraya to move in opposite directions, and now they could attack Naruto without his interference. He quietly prayed that Naruto would hold out until he could come and support him.

Completely unfazed by the explosions, Naruto stood, his glowing blue eyes staring into number Ten's barely visible ones as a hand grasped the handle of the rippling blade of Quicksilver, nine chakra tails flailing behind him, each waiting for the other to move first. A cold, emotionless look graced Naruto's features, and a state of body and mind that only waited for the smallest of movements from his opponent before it reacted held him ready.

Surprisingly it was Ten who reacted first, a simple, gray ninja-to appearing in his outstretched hand as he moved at great speed to stab Naruto through the gut, the blow quickly parried and countered by half a dozen chakra tails instantly going for critical areas. If the formless face could show fear, Naruto was quite certain that it would have, but for now he'd have to settle with a light flicker of the eyes as his wind chakra surrounded the surface of the blade. The tails weren't going to kill... but to restrict. One of the tails went around the hand that held the scythe, the other five restraining his arms and legs, a final one went around the man's neck, each of them squeezing tightly.

"**Dance of Ruin**" he cried out as the blade shredded it's way through the simple sword and impacting into the cloak

"**One hundred**! **Two Hundred!**" Naruto cried as the blade cut it's way through Ten's defenses, striking two blows, one after another, the first shredding the blade and cloak, and the second landing clear on Ten's chest, and as he leaped over him, his back, ripping away the clothes and leaving a number of bleeding wounds on the flesh.

Naruto wisely decided to keep quiet about the other blows, deciding to inwardly count the blows and push a much strength as he could from the radiance field into the final one. Before he could land a third blow, the 'victim' began chuckling

"Well that was a weak fucking lovetap. Are you a little girl or somethin'?" Ten muttered in an annoyed voice "Oi bastard!" he shouted to his partner "No point in hiding anymore. I'm cutting the little shit into mincemeat" he announced. "And you can pick up the pieces for the damn bijuu for all I care"

Naruto finally noticed the appearance of the man in front of him. Gray hair bound into a small ponytail, a bare, muscled chest, and standard dark shinobi pants. A pair of red eyes watched him, filled with psychotic glee as he proceeded, at lightning speed no less, to substitute himself with a large log, and to unseal a weapon conveniently located on his belt. It didn't help Naruto's morale that the weapon was a fierce looking tree-bladed scythe.

"Now you little shit-stain." Hidan turned to Naruto, not in the least worried about a blade that was now sticking through his chest and bleeding heavily "I'm gonna carve you up so badly not even the Shinigami will be able to sort you out."

Let's face it. Naruto has been dealt the short end of the stick most of his life, so he was pretty used to weird stuff going his way. Heck, almost every mission above D-rank turned into either an A or S rank so far, so being in over his head was nothing new to him. Enemies that did things that made no sense weren't either. But a guy who took a chakra charged sword into his chest without blinking? That was a new one. Still, if it was alive... it could die as well. His mind went over all the entries he memorized from the Bingo books, but was unable to find him there. In the mean time, Ten took his first swing, and Naruto found out just why this guy was in the Akatsuki

Nine found himself unpleasantly surprised by a quickly arriving Jiraya, who should have been far away enough for him to get to Naruto and disable him. Jiraya however was now angry... and it took a lot to piss off the old sannin. His figure was hunched slightly, but he wasn't wounded. Much to Nine's horror, he figured out that the sannin was _aiming._ That realization came to late however, as a stream of oil, spit out by a toad beyond his line of sight covered his body. He had lowered his guard for just a split-second and the old toad took advantage of it. In a last ditch effort, Nine pulled on all of his chakra, managing to substitute out of the way

"Ten! You freaking idiot, get the hell out of there or even your immortality won't save you" he shouted at his partner he offered a final warning before he vanished. Jiraya had no intentions of following... it was pointless, as without Naruto's Radiance or a tracker-nin it was near-impossible to follow them, though he had a very good idea where he was going, and besides, he finally recognized number Ten of the Akatsuki, Hidan the Immortal. The information on him was limited at best, but it stated that he was a former ninja of a small village to the northeast, a devout of Jashin, one of the old Demons who built cults and offered their followers powers in return for services. Jashin, unfortunately was an entity that fed on death and murder, and so did his followers apparently, if Hidan was any indication.

Nine wasn't nearly a fortunate as he had hoped. The shunshin escape led him into what turned out to be a perfectly deadly trap for one such as he... a large seal array carved into the ground, one that restricted any attempts at jutsu such as shunshin(AN: it's a high-speed technique, therefore messed up by it) by drastically increasing the air density within a localized space. It also made such ordinary things as breathing very, very hard. And the friendly array of exploding tags placed everywhere around him made him feel even more welcome.

"Just great... what's next?" he grumbled as the tags primed themselves and began exploding.

The newly identified Hidan was livid. How dare that little shit boss him around? If he wasn't stuck in a life or death (?) battle with Naruto Uzumaki he'd kill the little prick. Leaving all such entertaining thoughts and plans for a suitable time later, he once more fully focused on obliterating his enemy. Unlike most others in his illustrious organization, he was a weapon expert, greatly assisted by his apparent immortality. Ninjutsu, while present, was still a distant second. Seals? Genjutsu? Not his style. So he did what he did best, swung around the scythe like a whirlwind of blades.

The first attack he made on his enemy, not really waiting for him to pull out his blade from his chest had surprised him. Naruto proved to be a better fighter than he expected, as he easily dodged the fast slash that would have decapitated the boy... had it connected. The second, following a split-second later, was aimed diagonally across his torso, but was blocked by a tail of all things, and countered by another of those pesky chakra enhanced blows, this one aimed just next to the last one, extending the hole in his chest. Did the boy actually plan to cut him in half? And if he only had more time to play.

Naruto's breathing was far quicker than when the battle began. Although he could still maintain his Compression form, it had taken a lot of damage from that damnable scythe. Overflow was no longer an option, thanks to his chakra molding issues, and the third form wasn't developed enough yet. So that left only one choice if he wanted to win, and he had to do it fast, if whatever the man he knew as Ten was doing was any indication_.. 'That's a seal he's making' _he inwardly commented, noting the seal on the ground that he was making with his scythe. '_A seal against a budding seal master is NOT a good idea you undying freak_' Naruto added, rather happy on the inside, because now, he had not just a plan, but THE plan. The problem was, if it failed, he was screwed, but then again, he was screwed if he didn't do something. The fatigue from blocking and dodging the attacks was building up, and very unpleasantly stacking with the dull pain that his aching chakra pathways were giving off. So, it was do or die. What else was new?

"Ready to die little shit?" Hidan jokingly asked, while Naruto's face showed an unnatural calm "I asked you a question asshole. Are you gonna reply or am I going to.." he spoke, but was cut off by a _sharp_ voice

"**Dance of Ruin"** Naruto intoned. It was time. Pulling on all of his remaining chakra, he summoned eight more clones, all of them together forming a perfect circle around Hidan. Before the immortal could get a chance to react, Naruto cut the move short, flooding him with inhuman amounts of killing intent, and to his own surprise, stunning him for half a moment

"**Judgment" **he finished, nine swords slashing down to kill the man, all nine striking. Hidan laughed like a madman, and Naruto soon figured out why as he felt a sharp pain in his left arm, and noticed that two out of the three blades on Hidan's scythe were lodged in his forearm, which was bleeding profusely. The form of the Compression around him was quickly dissipating. He was wounded, exhausted and _almost_ out of chakra. He didn't want to ask what else could go wrong, but there was still one final phase to pull off.

Hidan smirked as he pulled out the blade from Naruto's arm, bringing the bloodied blade close to his lips, completely unaware that Naruto was planning to attack him at that very moment. Just as his body began changing, his skin turning black, and bone-like markings became visible on his skin, but before the blood could take effect, the seal beneath him was covered by something. A very large array, which at the same time was very simple... an oversized exploding tag. In the final moments before the tag destroyed him, a shadow appeared and whisked his body away from the explosion, leaving the brunt of the shockwave to slam into Naruto. It was at that time that the blond found out that his usual regenerative mechanisms had taken an extended leave of absence. He groaned as he fell to the scorched ground beneath him, getting caught just before hitting it with his head.

"Good timing sensei" he muttered, barely capable of staying awake.

"Try and stay conscious. I"'m already going to get mauled by that girl of yours, and I'm betting that your mother and Keisei, and very likely Tsunade will join in" he jokingly stated as he checked the boy's wounds, slightly frowning when he noticed the deep wound on his arm that was slowly healing. He applied a small bit of chakra to staunch the bleeding and ripping off a piece of his cloak to tie it up.

"Need me to bail your ass ero-sensei? Sure" Naruto jokingly replied to the older man, who laughed and shook his head at his crazy apprentice. '_Now that that's settled, off to a glorious death!_' Jiraya mused as he jumped forward, towards the rest of their group, holding Naruto over his shoulders, the boy laughing with him, albeit, weakly.

Two hours later found the entire group within the borders of Fire country within the safety of one of the villages near the border, or more accurately, within a group of three rooms in the local inn, with Tsunade doing her best to treat Naruto's many wounds, while Anko, Keisei and Kushina were looking from a small distance.

She could safely say that the experience of treating someone for burned pathways was new to her, since most such victims wee dead by the time medics got to them. Thin, red and blackish lines designated the points where his chakra had burned his body, mostly present on his arms, torso and legs. He was completely out, a slight chakra enhanced tap to his neck left him in a dreamless slumber while she and Shizune worked on hi healing

"Just what did he do Jiraya? It looks like he forced all of his chakra through his body at once"

"I'm not exactly sure... I noticed he had some problem though, when I asked him, he said that he had problems molding chakra, rather than controlling it." Jiraya calmly answered her question."You have probably noticed the barely-concealed winces he made whenever he performed a jutsu" he added, with Tsunade making a short nod, as she put the information together. Finally, she looked at the wound on his arm, treating it with even more medical chakra, and helping the cleansing and regeneration of the wound. Medical techniques, apart from a few forbidden arts were unable to regenerate flesh to the point of restoring a gaping hole in someone's body, but with people who _did _regenerate, it was relatively easy to help the body out. It was also at that point that she identified the culprit of the damage to his chakra pathways.

From the outside, it was nearly impossible to detect it, but her diagnostic jutsu quickly picked up the residual demonic Reiki in Naruto's chakra.

"When was the last time he used it's chakra?" Tsunade fired away

"Months ago, since then, he relied solely on his own." Jiraya answered, while Anko nodded in confirmation "Why are you asking?"

"Because Naruto has some leaking into his body. It's a small amount from what I can tell, but it's harming him. Taking into account his regenerative abilities, I doubt it will kill him, but I'd suggest that he avoids using too much chakra for a while. A month at least" Tsunade laid out her diagnosis. It wasn't a pleasant detail, but still... she avoided noting that his chakra was slightly more powerful than before, and if Jiraya noticed any important changes, he would have said something about it. She finished bandaging the surface wounds on his body and

"That's a relief" Keisei softly spoke, while Anko next to her lovingly gazed on him.

"Come on girls, let's get the troublemaker to bed" Kushina said, relief obvious in her voice as she carefully lifted her son, carrying him off to the bed reserved for him.

"I think we should all get some rest for now" Jiraya calmly spoke "We'll be moving again in the morning. I'll take first guard"

_(Midnight, village of Mokaru, Borderlands)_

The two figures, belonging to Akatsuki members Nine and Ten stood atop the roof of the ruined temple. The temple itself had little significance to either of them, belonging to some long forgotten cult or religion, but it was useful because it was high up, and ideal for such actions as sending and receiving messenger birds. Nine gently grasped the small bird that came to pick up their reports, gently stroking the bird's head as Ten tied up the two halves of their report to the bird's leg.

"They were good" Nine calmly stated

"Agreed. Next time _we_ pick the battlefield" Ten added.

* * *

**Author's notes: **So, how do you like them apples? For those who couldn't guess, number Nine was Tobi (of whom there will be a bit of talk, he's not going to be a bumbling idiot, nor a simple Madara alter-ego.) And Ten is Hidan. Bet you weren't expecting those two, were you eh?

Also, I found it rather stupid that an organization that well... organized wouldn't bother to improve their chances by making themselves harder to identify (hence the shapeless forms beneath the cloaks and hats and the modified voices) along with investing a bit on their protection. So the cloaks now actually serve a purpose besides looking fancy (and let's face it, that's all they did in both the manga and anime) and it's a single layer of protection against an offensive ninjutsu. Not a bad idea, huh? Still, it can't stop overkill abilities if that's what you're worried about :P

Such nonsense doesn't account for Hidan though... he's a fucking immortal bastard. Nuff said

Hmm... I should seriously set up Naruto to finish the Death of a Thousand Cuts at least once, but laying ten consecutive blows on a tough opponent isn't easy... bummer.


	20. Slow Days of Peace

**Author's Ramblings : **Hello everyone, and welcome to the new chapter of Determination. This one will start out very, and I mean very slowly, going through some of the recent events, thinking on the account of various characters, and so on. Keep in mind that there was a short times kip of about two days, the time the group needed to reach Konoha from the borders via Air Toad. The events that followed their arrival, along with (probably) Tsunade's ascension to a certain position of power, Naruto's plans for future development of both self and others. Anyho, you'll see. Oh, and you might want to know, I've finally decided on Naruto's taijutsu style, though I ain't showing anything till I get it done completely

Oh, and thanks for reading this far, for the twentieth chapter, I'd like to once more express my gratitude for offering your kind words and support. I hope my work remains as entertaining as it has been so far.

* * *

_Chapter 20 : Slow Days of Peace_

_(An evening two days later, Streets of Konoha)_

It was a beautiful night, Naruto decided. Even if the chilly winter air unpleasantly bit at his skin, he enjoyed it. He had chosen to spend this night alone, as he needed to sort his thoughts, so he left his family behind in the Namikaze estate, safe, knowing that the wards set up by his late father would keep them completely safe. It was not that he doubted their skills, far from it, but he preferred that any intruders don't even get a chance to attack them.

He tiredly glanced at his left arm, the wound he received still hadn't healed properly, and both Tsunade and Anko had forbidden him from any physical exertions. Still, the sadistic grin Jiraya made on the subject of his continued training made him reconsider the idea that taking a few days off was such a bad thing.

Recent events outside of his control brought many thoughts and fears, some of which he had thought he had buried for good.

The battle he had just fought highlighted all the ups and downs of his currents situation and skill. If it wasn't for Jiraya's instincts, they would have likely been caught off-guard and summarily defeated, his own senses, on which he had begun to rely immensely proved worthless in detecting a threat, which according to his sensei was likely following them from the moment they left Nadere. His traps, while ingenious failed to stop them for a moment, his sword skills proved to be insufficient to end the enemies lives (though here he had the issue of figuring out just how to kill an enemy who could stand having a sword stuck through his chest, and if such a useful ability could be replicated), his ninjutsu was nonexistent apart from a few minor tricks, his knowledge of poisons bought him a few seconds at best, as the enemy knew how to neutralize them almost immediately. He failed to use the advantages of his Chakra Art until the end, though if that shadow, _whoever_ it was didn't save his opponent, he would most certainly be in pieces, immortal or not. The amount of chakra he laced that exploding seal with would have blown a hole through steel. The other highlights were his speed, reflexes, strength and stamina. While the scythe-wielding psycho and his obviously Uchiha buddy had more skill, he was faster, stronger and more enduring. Apart for the blow that the scythe dealt to his arm, he hadn't been struck once during the entire fight (neither had they, but he could safely assume that this was the case in most higher-level fights amongst ninjas, as all blows were killing ones.), which, he oculd safely argue was a good thing.

He could easily point out what he lacked. While he possessed a strong arsenal of low and mid-level skills, with the exceptions of Chakra Art and Swamp of the Underworld (which he now realized he hadn't used almost at all, but it took a long time to execute properly... he needed a shortcut ) he had no high end heavy hitters. His sword techniques would cut slack there, but they were mostly to slow to execute properly without a good deal of preparation.

So, he made a plan. A big plan, and a damn good one, or at least that's what Naruto thought. If he had to guess, he would say that the Akatsuki will fall like a plague of locusts on the jinchuriki, and in the cases of those such as him, they would also strike all those close to them in an effort to defeat them, or even worse, force a surrender through hostages.

The plan was simple in essence, he would train his ass off, and while he was doing so, he would help train those closest to him. Also, helping Konoha improve their security, helping out the other members of the Rookie 9 plus Gai's team. The added idea of offering to teach the basics of the Art of Seals in the academy might also be useful. If the younger generation gained an additional edge it would help greatly, and while things such as self-made exploding tags and sealing scrolls seemed simple to veteran ninjas, for any genin to be able to make those for near no investment on his part helped out substantially. Said money could then be used to buy better equipment, more chakra and blood pills, and so on. Additional help in any area of studies would also be a good idea. He idly wondered how he would fare as a teacher, and if he would end up working with Iruka. An interesting idea that.

If Jiraya was already planning a training schedule for him, he had to talk to him and add a few things... such as making the idea of apprenticing Anko real. A fair analysis of her talents and potential showed that she could damn well be one of the best, with proper help. Help he would gladly provide in any way possible. Kushina and Keisei were also on said list. Kushina Uzumaki was regarded as a tactical and strategic nightmare among her many enemies, so he was rather curious how said enemies would react to the two of them? He would also help out another young prodigy, Kabuto. If Tsunade was willing to teach him, he had a sneaky suspicion that he could easily become the best medic Konoha ever produced, and he doubted that with the same help, Sakura would be far behind. He had little doubt that Kakashi was helping Sakura and Sasuke with their training during the time he was absent, but the one-eyed jounin was better suited to training Sasuke than either Sakura or him, so it would have probably been wise to pair the two of them for a while. He also had reasons to doubt that the others were simply lazing about (well, maybe Shikamaru, but still).

But on his own skills, there was a lot to work on. A short chat with Shizune revealed a few very useful ideas. And rechecking his memories, he remembered a few tricks he had seen, so his plan finally took a direction. He would become _truly_ unpredictable, develop a fighting style that had so many facets to it that it would be impossible to prepare against them all. Know thy enemy, but don't let him know you, and prepare such a chain of contingencies that any attempt to bypass them all will prove fatal.

'_Contingencies? How the hell didn't I think of this sooner!_' Naruto almost shouted, as a completely wicked thought crossed his mind. Oh he was so going to have fun if it worked.

Naruto however, wasn't the only person out that night. On the opposite side of the village, within the confines of Training Ground 25 to be more exact, all of the members of the former Team 9 along with Team 8, were hard at training. Neji, regardless of becoming a chunin had absolutely no qualms about training with his teammates, having been enlightened on the shortcomings of his family's style, or shortly put, he got his ass handed to him by Naruto, something that while it annoyed him, he appreciated, for it would help him grow stronger as he now had perspective.

Gai was pleased at how his students were faring. Ever since the exams, Lee had nearly doubled the daily training he normally did, setting a new goal of breaking a steel plate with a palm thrust. As insane as it sounded, he, from personal experience knew that it could be done, and a shiver went up his spine at the memory of his one-time sensei who was perfectly capable of doing the same. At the same time, Neji and Tenten had taken to perfecting their styles, and learning ninjutsu to incorporate in it. Unsurprisingly, Neji had an affinity for water jutsu, which could easily be added to his already present skills, while Tenten had a strong affinity for earth, the few offensive and many defensive jutsu helping her out greatly. Still, her low chakra capacity was a problem, one he had helped her start to correct.

Right next to him, Kurenai Yuhi was observing her own students. Kiba and Akamaru, who were at the time sparring with Lee, had both grown considerably stronger and faster during the past half a month month from the exams, mastering almost every one of their clan's jutsu. Still, the great surprise wasn't either Kiba or Shino, it was in fact Hinata. With the growing support of her slightly older cousin and her team, she had not only left her shell, but turned into a deadly, if not a bit inexperienced kunoichi. Even the clan elders of the Hyuuga had to begrudgingly admit that she not only had potential, but was quickly becoming a contender for the unofficial position of 'Hyuuga prodigy', and worse still, that they were wrong about her, something that actually brought a grin to Hiashi's face... an act that was followed by many attempts at releasing a genjutsu, which all miserably failed, though more than a few went to consult Maito Gai on unbreakable genjutsu.

Shino had improved greatly as well, with a total of three different symbiotic hives in his body, the chakra they drained to sustain themselves was too much for him to use any chakra intensive jutsu... but ideally suited for genjutsu, that required small amounts and great control, and he had proved an excellent student, and with a bit of instruction from Tenten, he had picked a weapon, a simple looking naginata which fitted perfectly with his style of close-but-not-too-close fighting.

There were two others who had joined the training. Sasuke had taken to training without the benefit of the Sharingan, putting the desire to strengthen himself without the Sharingan through an excuse of not wanting to copy his comrades' skills, while Sakura was nearby with Kabuto, going through an advanced medical text, each sprouting so many things that to the untrained ears of all others present sounded like gibberish. Kabuto however, was deeply pleased by his student's progress, and his own as well. Sakura had proven to be a natural in the medical arts, literally devouring large quantities of information. He still remembered how she learned the position and purpose of every single pressure spot on the human body in less than a week, and the entirety of the basic human anatomy (the skeleton, muscles and organs) in less than a month to perfection. For all intents and purposes, she was a walking encyclopedia that knew how to apply it's knowledge. He had been lightly skeptical at first, but he found that he enjoyed teaching the girl greatly, and she proved an excellent research partner. Though the technique the two were developing could be mildly described as unethical among doctors... ninja had no such qualms about killing people. If it got the job done...

Both of the jounin wordlessly came to the same conclusion, this generation would surpass them, the only question that remained was when. The only one missing in the picture was Kakashi, but he got stuck with a high-end mission, so that could be forgiven. He did leave a number of scrolls for his students, making sure that they had something to do.

Naruto opened the small tube and popped the prescribed pills into his mouth, swallowing the tasteless objects quickly. He never had to drink medicine so far, but Tsunade ensured him that these would help with his healing. It was still somewhat early, it being seven, but night had long since fallen, and if the light coming from the Hokage tower was any indication, Sarutobi and Tsunade were still there. Still, there were a few more people to visit beforehand. A friend he hadn't seen in a while, despite his promises

_'Of all the... when I get my hands on that blond for convincing me to get back here and take this job. Arghh!' _Tsunade mentally ranted, glaring at the documents she and her sensei of old were going over. Trade agreements with Sand and Waterfall, the recently renewed peace treaty with Kumo, and finally, the terms of the new and the plan of the reformed alliance with Sand. After the council finally accepted the idea Sarutobi put forth, it was only a matter of letting the two Daimyo come here, along with a representative from Suna, something the oldest daughter of the late Kazekage, Temari was capable of doing. The daimyos would arrive tomorrow, and things were getting prepared for their visit, and that was when the negotiations would start

Sarutobi was calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was grinning at his student's troubles with the job she was going to take over soon. Ah the soon to come joys of retirement. He'd finally have the time to finish that calligraphy practice he'd been holding off for years. And just after he'd finished cleaning up the village. Life could be so good at times.

Still, there was the subject of the ROOT agents in rehab, the records acquired from Danzo's subterranean base, the various resources and research materials salvaged from there. The bloody bastard found a way to annoy him even from the grave. Thankfully, the benefit of said resources would be vast, for Danzo wasn't anything if not thorough and capable. Not that it saved his ass from a compound poison, or as it was officially stated 'Stress-induced heart attack'.

Those weren't the only thoughts the old man had, nor the only discussion the two of them held. There was a plethora of ideas and suggestions concerning the changes that should, would and had to be instated, going from the ninja academy, the village security and ANBU operation protocols, down to some of the basic accounting, and minor laws and regulations. Subject such as reorganizing the chunin and jounin teams, providing increased training for current and future genins, reinforcing and reinstating disused border posts and smaller bases popped up frequently, along with requests for an increase in funding from the Daimyo for offering further security within the region.

An unspoken fact remained, these weren't idle talks of peaceful improvements, but preparations for a potential war. As much as Sarutobi hated forcing heavy training on younger generations, if there was war on the horizon, that training would save lives, mostly theirs, and if it meant sacrificing a few years of childhood, sadly, it was a price he was willing to pay. They had grown soft from the long times of peace, and as much as he hated to admit it, Danzo was right, it was time for Konoha to once more remind the rest of the world just why it was the top dog, though no one stated that he had to use his methods to get there.

Within the Namikaze estate, three women were enjoying themselves in the private hot spring behind the main house. Kushina knew the place by heart, even though she only spent a scant few months there before the attack. It was a pleasant home, though she noted that Naruto had taken over the room she and Minato had shared a long time ago. Not that she minded, there were a few more very, _very_ comfortable ones. And she helped Keisei pick one out for herself. The house was just as she remembered it, a bit less dust, more mess in the study, and a disturbingly large supply of ramen materials in the pantry, but aside from that, it was the home they were supposed to live in.

She felt that small pang of pain in her heart, she missed her husband. But at least she had her son and daughter. It was something to look forward to.

"It's really beautiful here" Anko stated in a relaxed voice

"Mhmh" Kushina murmured in agreement "Minato was good at this kinda thing. See those flowers over there?" she pointed to a small garden filled with mostly medical herbs "He nurtured them from seeds to this. Still can't figure out how he preserved them"

A small chuckle escaped Keisei's lips.

"What's so funny?"

"Orochimaru had a set of records he kept on any person he considered a threat. Minato Namikaze was marked off with 'Avoid at all costs' later on completed with 'Thank Kami he's dead'. He made me memorize all of them, so I'm hardly surprised by most things he can do..."

Anko merely shook her head in annoyance at the mention of her former sensei, while Kushina watched her daughter with a bit of surprise mixed with disbelief.

"What kind of a life did you have there?" Kushina barely whispered, while Keisei merely shook her head with a small smile.

"A crazy one." she shortly answered "And look how I turned out!" she shouted proudly, pumping a fist in the air, bringing laughs from the two older women.

"Where's Naruto?" Anko curiously asked once she calmed down.

"He said he needed a while to cool off" Keisei responded, diving up to her chin in the warm water.

"What the hell is he up to now?" Anko muttered as she closed her eyes and dozed off, trying to catch a little bit of rest before she had to go back to work.... those ROOT operatives weren't going to interrogate themselves.

"There, all fixed up" Zaku proudly announced as he and Dosu finally recreated the infamous Melody arm that Dosu had used until it was destroyed a while ago in the exams. Life was good for the two former sound ninja, and Kin with them. With permission from the Hokage, they opened a small shop that handled repairs of various devices, that being their specialty. It was a far less exciting life than the one they used to lead, but it was also much, much safer, and since they now had a comfortable home at a fair price, along with a profitable business, it was very much comfortable.

"You think it will work?" Dosu asked as he placed the new and improved glove on his hand. Unlike the original complicated machine that was slow and bulky, the new one was nothing more than a plated gauntlet that held the complex sound amplifier, very light and flexible.

"Yah, it will." came Kin's voice "We checked it over five times already, if anything, it will work better than the original. Now get, I need to get ready for my date." she added as she stormed into the room in a bathrobe, the Dosu and Zaku running out like the demons of hell were behind them.

Tenzo looked at his younger friend with a small amount of surprise.

"You came to see Gaara?" he quietly asked.

"Yep. Would have done so earlier, but I just arrived today. Have you been looking after him" Naruto responded, twirling a kunai around his finger.

"Yea, the kid's fine." Tenzo lightly commented "While there is a bit of protocol about visiting VIPs, I think Ibiki won't raise a fuss about it. So, how did the last mission go?" he asked curiously as he ushered the blond past the secure gates.

"Better than expected actually. There are a few details I can't talk about yet, but they'll be public knowledge in a few days or so." he trailed off "Never mind that, how are you doing Tenzo?"

"Got stuck with this month's guard rotation. Boring as hell, but that sand kid Gaara helped relieve boredom. Did you know that he's quite good at shogi?" Tenzo stated curiously.

"He probably improved after getting some sleep. I guess I'd be cranky after not sleeping for years"

"Yah, that couldn't have been good for his mind" Tenzo retorted with a chuckle. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, those kunai you made? Worth their weight in gold" he stated jovially. Naruto smiled back.

"Just glad that they helped as much as you helped me." the younger man answered, bringing a smile to the normally stoical face of the seasoned ANBU. The pair maintained a comfortable silence between them as they descended into the dark bowels of the ANBU prison. Apart for the caldera fortress that served as home for the worst of the scum, this was probably the safest prison in Fire Country. Jiraya had personally reinforced the seal arrays along the walls in tandem with Minato Namikaze. For all intents and purposes, even if you were a kage, if you had the mark of a prisoner on you, it would be impossible to use any chakra whatsoever, something that kept the guards a bit more relaxed about the prisoners, though not by much, since most of the truly dangerous ones _didn't_ need chakra to kill.

Soon, the cell in question came into view. Naruto was mildly surprised to notice that the cell was a rather comfortable one. Not to mention that there was a large stack of books in one of the corners.

"Uzumaki" Gaara stoically stated when he noticed him, but a faint hint of a smile was visible on his face. Naruto on the other hand sported a full grin at the sight of the younger boy.

"How've you been Gaara?" he asked in a calm voice

"Better" came the short response.

"I heard you've been playing Shogi. Up for a game?"

"Why not"

"Would you mind?" Naruto asked Tenzo, and the ANBU gave a simple nod before taking out the small board and passing it on. Naruto sat down in front of the barred door, placing the board in front of him, and the pieces on it. With a small smile, he pulled the first move.

"Your turn" Naruto calmly stated, starting with a light opening "So, how did the prison system treat you?"

"My stay was... pleasant. I've had time to read, and finally sleep" Gaara retorted "Done"

"An attack this early? Interesting. So, Shukaku is no longer bothering you?"

"I can't hear him at all anymore... it's relaxing. Your move. Tiger has been very helpful"

"Tiger? Ah, I did ask him to look after you and your family a bit." the final words caused a slight stop in Gaara.

"You okay?" Naruto asked in a worried tone

"I think so. It's just... I haven't been much of a family to them, and I've only understood that since a little while ago" Gaara stated in a solemn tone.

"I know what you mean" Naruto added after a few moments. "I've pretty much just come from being introduced to the rest of my family. Your move" Naruto suggested in a warm voice.

"I see." Gaara stoically replied, before he pulled one last move "I win"

Naruto choked on his spit the moment Gaara stated his victory in his usual stoic tone. He realized that he never even saw it coming "How the..."

"I play for about six hours every day. Tiger says I'm a fast learner." Gaara chose to explain with a barely visible smirk on his face. Naruto had previously noted that it was nearly impossible to read the red-haired jinchuriki, as the boy originally had the emotional range of a teaspoon, very much in thanks to the demon sealed inside him and the 'friendly' support of his deceased father. Being cut off from both, and having the chance to talk to a (mostly) normal human being somewhat expanded said range.

"I don't want to know" Naruto grumbled, threatening to bring an actual smile from Gaara. "Anyway, sorry for not coming sooner. The moment I got out of the hospital, I got drafted for a new mission"

"It's alright, I was sleeping most of the first few days." he quickly replied. "How is my family doing?" he asked with a bit of reluctance.

"No idea. I haven't really asked Tiger anything, though I doubt that their situation is any worse, so they should be okay."

"I see. Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll sleep some more. Come back and visit soon my friend." he calmly said, an added amount of warmth on the final words which Naruto noticed with a small grin.

"Sure. Rest well. I'll visit as soon as possible." He turned away, to leave, slowly walking away, almost unaware of the first, true smile on Gaara's face. Only one more thing left to do today.

Shikamaru was quietly grumbling. It wasn't that he minded the work, or his team, it was simply that he would have preferred to stay in Konoha and do something relaxing... like play Shogi, or watch the clouds pass by. Though he doubted that the mission would be boring, just troublesome. Like the crazy blonde girl that was jumping alongside him. Thankfully Chouji and Asuma were more... controlled than Ino, otherwise he'd go insane.

"Sensei, we're here" Chouji shortly called Asuma, bringing the bearded chain-smoker back to attention.

"You alright Asuma-sensei? You've been kinda lost for a while now" Ino curiously asked, smelling a bit of potential gossip in the air.

"It's nothing" he sighed "Let's get back to work."

_'So, if I tweak the basic trap array setup it just might possibly work. Oh to hell with it, I need a second opinion' _Naruto inwardly mused as he was going over a scroll depicting some of the simpler trap arrays he had come across in the short time he had. The complexity was utterly unimportant at this point, though he would seek out more advanced traps once he had a firm hold on the basis of what he wanted to achieve.

The idea was simple, but brilliant. If traps could be set to trigger on certain conditions, why not make beneficial arrays placed on someone's body that would trigger when the bearer was in need? The first idea that came to him was a simple, physical, one-shot barrier that would block a short barrage of kunai from hitting the user unaware, effectively reducing any threats from ambushes, though he was still unsure how to force it to only trigger on attacking weapons. He was irritatingly aware that this was the crux of seal research, as the creation of a completely new concept (at least to his knowledge, though without any mention anywhere else, also to his knowledge, he was working with _terra_ _incognita_) was not something to be taken easily, and this was a precise subject, requiring accurate wording (and later, sealing) to the point that a highly capable lawyer would be reasonably challenged. A small mistake would force an array to not only not work when needed, but perhaps have a detrimental effect. And that was only the trigger part, let alone developing the Sealing Arts, which had very few directly beneficial techniques to begin with, into a reinforcing art. It was a challenge he certainly enjoyed, having some sense how his father probably felt when he was developing the Hiraishin. Speaking of said jutsu, he just then realized that he had only managed to decipher a third of the array. Though, unlike his current work, it was impossible to do so in public, as he wouldn't dare risk one of the most powerful weapons at their disposal simply to satisfy his own impatience. As his brainstorming was coming to a high, a number of his defensive and observation perimeter clones kept a close watch over him, each of them henged into an blank-masked ANBU member. It was a sound tactic for providing self security, and the clones kept a constant vigil over him, also informing him of whoever was approaching if he couldn't sense them through the field of Radiance. Soon enough, the Hokage tower once more came into sight, a mere three hours since his last visit, and the lights were still on. '_I get that they're dedicated, but don't those people have to sleep or something? Well, better get this over with, I want some Anko-time for myself_' he mentally ranted as he entered the tower, unopposed by the guards. Considering that he had an eerie feeling that the two of them chased him during at least one of his prank-getaways, it was somewhat surprising, though he decided not to push his luck more than he had to.

He reached the office easily enough, though he knew he had to leave his 'detachment' outside, he was also very much aware of the entire ANBU squad that was looking after the tower, and the likely five to ten squads within a five-second response range. Genjutsu don't help if you can feel through them. With a cheerful wave to the few he recognized, Cat included he waltzed to the door, sending a light knock to disturb the two aged politicians.

"Come in" came Sarutobi's tired voice over the sound of papers shuffling. Naruto had to suppress a laugh at the sense of a sake bottle being hidden, and just for kicks, he unsealed one of his own. With a wide grin, he opened the door, waving the bottle of rare rice wine with a grin

"Hey old man, I thought since you were working so hardly I'd drop by with a drink to cheer the two of you up" he greeted in a friendly voice.

"I don't buy it, but the sake is welcome. Get your ass in here gaki" Tsunade greeted back in a thoroughly annoyed voice. "So?" she asked after pulling out the ill-concealed saucers and refilling them with fresh sake. Jiraya, who was also present, was strangely silent, but still acknowledged his presence.

"I might have a few suggestions, seeing that you are already having a strategy meeting and all." Naruto slowly replied.

"We're listening. Go ahead Naruto" Sarutobi replied in his grandfatherly tone, but genuinely curious what the boy had to offer. Fresh ideas were always welcome. Naruto's face turned serious immediately, all nonsense left behind.

"If you don't mind sensei, have you brought up the subject of apprentices?" Naruto asked Jiraya

"Yes. I will officially take Anko Mitarashi as my second apprentice starting tomorrow. I wanted to tell her myself, but I think it would be better if you did." Jiraya answered, then turned to Tsunade, who sighed

"Fine. I'm also willing to take an apprentice or two, but I know next to nothing of the current ninja who have the potential." she tiredly stated. Naruto looked pensive for a moment, before he came up with a few candidates.

"Dare I suggest Kabuto Yakushi and Sakura Haruno? Kabuto is a true medical prodigy, trained by his father Saito, and Sakura doesn't seem to be far behind. From what he says, she mastered all the basics of medical ninjutsu to the level that it can be applied on the battlefield, as she displayed during the invasion, while Kabuto was the acting chief surgeon for the incoming patients in the hospital because Saito Yakushi was leading the field medics." Naruto explained his reasoning, earning a favorable nod from Tsunade. He was also pleased to note that he was earning growing respect from the future hokage.

"I will take those two into consideration. Anything else?" she asked him.

"Yes. Two more things. First, since I'm temporarily banned from any chakra training" he said, giving a meaningful look to Tsunade" I had the idea of helping out at the academy. I am aware that more than a few still have issues with me, and the idea of me teaching at the academy, but I believe that the knowledge I can impart, at least in the area of basic sealing might give our future genin an edge once they are out of the academy."

"I see. And what would you be teaching them?" Sarutobi asked evenly, his curiosity piqued.

"I had intended to teach them the basic seals and seal arrays such as the exploding tag, storage array, chakra storage array, the basic Blood Seals and barrier arrays, the sharpening arrays for weapons. I would also instruct them in the creative use of said seals, with the idea of giving a final test that would force them to adapt what they have for a practical situation. If nothing else, it would help with creative thinking and it would also show those who have potential for future seal and barrier experts" Naruto finished the first part of his request, earning approving nods from all three. Sarutobi thought it over for a few moments before accepting.

"Alright then, we agree on this. The academy is short a teacher on the subject anyway. I'll handle the paperwork, and you can contact Iruka tomorrow at say, nine in the morning?" Naruto nodded. "Now, what was your other idea?" Sarutobi responded to his explanation, entwining his fingers beneath his chin.

"This one is actually for Jiraya, as one seal user to another. I may have had a very stupid idea... or a brilliant breakthrough" Naruto quietly stated, bringing forth Jiraya's full attention. Sarutobi quietly nodded, and the two moved to the other side of the room, leaving him and Tsunade to their work.

"What did you think up?" Jiraya asked, a near childlike curiosity present in his voice.

"Tell me, would it be possible to rig a seal to respond to a specific stimuli? Such as for instance a person's chakra level falling drastically low? Or a number of projectiles approaching at speed?" Naruto asked, bringing a surprised look from the sannin. "I've studied quite a few trap seals and tested a few even, but I can't figure out that part properly."

Jiraya was deep in thought, wondering just what the hell did he come up with? Still, the question intrigued him, as Naruto had proven himself to be a genius with seals, and highly creative. He could remember several highly complex trap scroll arrays used to set up secure perimeters during the last war, when both he and Minato had trained a small group in their creation to support the taking and holding of critical areas. '_Now what was it's name? Dragon something... ah, Dragon's Eye_'. The entire thing worked on several detection methods, allowing not only triggering via normal entry, but should someone manage to avoid setting it off, it used a secondary method of detecting chakra presences to set off a half-a-second delayed barrage of lethal projectiles.

"It might be possible, with a little tweaking" he stated

"Okay then, here's the idea. Contingencies." Naruto started, bringing a mildly confused look from Jiraya, before the older man figured out what he meant.

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me" he said in an awed tone

"Nope" Naruto calmly replied, and proceeded to lay all of his ideas in front of Jiraya, who actually took out a notebook and began scribbling them down, ideas of his own coming up as well, before he stopped himself. The implications of Naruto's idea were... staggering, and that was mildly put. Most ninja went along with the logic that an unprepared enemy was an easy target, as it was relatively simple to throw say, a hail of kunai at an unprotected group of genin, and if the were unaware, they would easily die. A barrier set to activate the moment a number of projectiles approaches would save them with ease, teaching them a valuable lesson in keeping attention to their surroundings as well. With heavily depleted chakra, a system which would automatically replenish it... or worse still, several such interconnected systems. The other thought that struck him was '_How the hell didn't anyone think of this sooner?_', sure people made traps, they made containment seals, but nothing like this. He stopped himself before he tried to steal his student's idea.

"I'm going to do something now, something that every fair teacher should do for their students, and leave this entire research for you to do." he stated, ripping off the first page he had written on, and starting a new one "I'll write down a list of seals, arrays and books that I believe could be of use to you, also find me tomorrow and I'll have a specific seal scrolls that will help you out greatly. I would also suggest talking to Tsunade about her special seal. Tell her I said it was okay, and you might be able to convince her to talk about it" he added "Also Naruto, if you manage to pull this off, as far as your sealing skills are concerned, we will no longer be sensei and student, but equals."

Now, it was Naruto's turn to be awestruck. The comment he made was more to get Jiraya's attention, he hadn't seriously considered it to be that much of a big deal. Not that he minded.

The results of the conversation reached the others in the room even before the conversation was over, Tsunade and Sarutobi, even with their somewhat limited knowledge of seals had an understanding of what Naruto was talking about and were rapt at attention, interested in the idea.

"Go get some rest Naruto, you're going to need it." Jiraya lightly commented, tapping his student's shoulder with his hand.

"Hai. Unless you have anything you need me for...?" Naruto asked

"Nah, just go already" Tsunade mock ordered "And thanks for the sake!" she added in a jovial tone, bringing out a loud laugh from Naruto. As soon as he was out, the others turned serious immediately.

"He's getting better" Sarutobi commented.

"How much, do you think, before he surpasses his old man?" Tsunade curiously asked

"If I had to guess, in about six years time, he'll be able to take on a village... and win" Jiraya finally answered. A collective shiver went through the spines of all present, as they each privately thanked Kami that Naruto was on their side.

Kushina made it a point to make herself busy. By now, Keisei was fast asleep, exhausted from the trip and the events. Regardless of her upbringing a part of her was still just a little twelve year old girl, and the girl needed her sleep. She was cleaning up the mess in some of the rooms, keeping wisely away from the study, remembering just what kind of a mess would be there, and just how much time it would take Naruto to find his things should she rearrange them. It was heartwarming to once more be in the place that had become her home, and since Tsunade explicitly forbade any strenuous activity, she had to resort to cleaning around to maintain her sanity. The home was surprisingly clean, though she couldn't tell if it was because Naruto was tidy or because he wasn't at home most of the time, though if the study was any indication, the second was the more likely case. Naruto had moved everything of importance from his old apartment here, including the small pots with the plants inside them, along with the barriers that kept perfect conditions for them to grow. She vaguely remembered Minato doing something similar for the plants outside.

"I wonder what this is..." she whispered, casually reading over a single paper that stood apart from the rest. She barely started reading when she heard the doors open. A sad smile crossed her face when she remembered that it wasn't her husband that had just entered.

"Anko? Mom? Keisei? Anyone home?" Naruto called as he entered, a content but slightly tired voice.

"Over here" she answered from the study. Kushina found herself increasingly tired, probably a side-effect from the events a few days ago... Tsunade did mention that she'd need a lot of sleep. With a short hug from her son, both decided it might be a good moment to catch some rest.

_(Tomorrow Morning, Namikaze estate)_

Naruto woke up, much to his pleasure, hugged by a nearly naked Anko, her purple hair tickling the back of his neck, as she nuzzled into him It was a good way to wake up, he mentally argued, though there was a lot of work to do.

He was an early riser, a habit borne of the need to slip past people to get a decent breakfast at Ichiraku's before the academy. Times had changed since then, and he was hardly as unpopular as he was then, but the habit never faded, though today he woke at an unusually late seven in the morning, opting to spend a little time with his favorite woman before he got up

Reluctantly squirming out of Anko's warm embrace nearly an hour later, and earning a groan from his lover as she grabbed a nearby pillow in an attempt to keep warmth, he got up and proceeded with his early morning rituals. Entering the comfortable bathroom he took one long look at his own reflection. It was funny how much he had matured, both physically and mentally in the past five months, gaining a few inches in height, a fully developed chest and shoulders, a few scars here and there, and these ones didn't heal properly, unlike those minor ones from before, most likely a result of them being gained in combat. The two most prominent scars were on his left arm, the one on his hand coming from the time he stabbed himself with a kunai to flush the poison out of his body, and the other along his arm from the scythe of the Akatsuki member 'Ten', who Jiraya identified as Hidan the Immortal. The wound had finally healed over the night, prompting a removal of the uncomfortable bandages, but the muscles still needed a day or two to completely knit back together.

His ability to mold chakra was still predictably disrupted. A minor attempt to create a working henge, and the resulting sliver of pain told him as much. Well, he'd have to adapt then.

A small smirk crossed his lips as he rinsed his face with water, mentally noting that it should almost be eight, and just about time for breakfast. Grabbing a comfortable shirt to wear over the black pants he picked up, Naruto walked in the direction of the kitchen on the floor beneath him to prepare breakfast.

Naruto was no expert on cooking, he knew as much, but he had just enough skill to make a tasty meal, and he tended to do things with emotion, pouring himself into his work, just as he did with everything else.

Keisei woke up a few minutes later, half-asleep and sniffing the scent of food.

"Pancakes..." she groaned as she leaped from the bed, dressed herself into a house robe and ran downstairs to eat what she considered 'her favorite food in the whole world!'.

"Naruto! You're making breakfast" she half-asked, almost stunned in surprise before she remembered the food he made a scant few days ago while they were still in Whirlpool.

"Eh... yeah?" Naruto tried, all the while flipping one of the thin pancakes in the air. "Anko says I'm a pretty decent cook, and I thought you girls might want something to eat before I left."

"Aww..." Keisei pouted "I thought you were going to stick around a bit now that we're here"

Naruto offered an apologetic smile

"I'll only be absent for a few hours, till noon at worst, or at least I hope so. Anyway, I'll be at the Academy, teaching" he stated with a small laugh in the end, though Keisei didn't get the joke.

"Here you go little sis, now what do you want with it?" he kindly asked, effectively plastering a large smile on the girl's lips.

"Do we have any honey?" she asked, hoping beyond hope that e answer was yes. Naruto took to thinking for a moment, perfectly aware that there was some left in the pantry, but opting to prolong the situation for a few long moments, before nodding in the affirmative, walking off to get it, chuckling at the happy, downright joyous laughter coming from his little sister. He never realized it before, but he missed this in his life. A family, even if it is a strange one by any standards, brought the warmth he missed greatly, a sense of peace, belonging and origin. It were these things that Naruto truly appreciated, along with the care and love of his family towards him. Consciously or not, Naruto had begun counting Anko into his family a while ago, and on the list of the people he wanted to protect at all costs, she was on the top, shortly followed by his immediate family of Kushina and Keisei, and only then followed by his senseis Jiraya and Iruka, Sarutobi, Kakashi, the people who looked after him for years, the rest of the people from the Rookie nine... he would gladly protect them all, as soon as he located the damnable jar of honey.

Iruka was having a good day. Scratch that, it was a great day. He'd finally gotten a replacement for the seal classes he was forced to take over since the last teacher got killed in the invasion. The only thing that worried him was the fact that the Hokage personally recommended someone, but wouldn't tell him who, opting to answer the question with a mischievous 'You'll see'. Giving up on guessing just who the Hokage sent, he opened the doors of the classroom he was holding class in, and walked inside quietly, doing his best to ignore the loud voices of the kids who haven't even noticed him. It made him wonder at times if the entire academy curriculum was even getting it's job done. He stood quietly, with eyes closed, counting from ten, and giving them a chance to quiet down before he applied the infamous Big Head jutsu that scared the daylights out of them.

Just as he had counted off to one, the door opened once again, and slammed back loudly, bringing the attention of the entire class to the door, and the person entering. With a sigh, he turned towards the door, and a small smile crossed the scarred man's face as he recognized the young man in front of him.

"Naruto!" Iruka greeted "What brings you here?"

"Didn't Hokage-sama tell you?" he curiously asked as he grasped the offered hand, glad to see his old academy teacher

"Tell me... oh" he started, then stopped, a grin very reminiscent of the young man in front of him covering his face. The many pupils, having been drawn to the new person in the room saw the foxy grin on Iruka's face, and knew immediately what to expect. Trouble, with a capital T.

"Students, allow me to introduce a new teacher who will be responsible for teaching you about Seals, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze"

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**Author's Notes:** And cut. Another chapter, this time a much slower one than I'm used to, but I needed to put certain things in, and prepare the grounds for others to come. That's about it, I haven't got much more to say, other than the next few chapters will be a bit more lively.


	21. Family Bonds and International Politics

**Author's Ramblings:** Hello everyone, I am proud to announce that '_Determination' _is back on track, and once more being updated. You will notice another leap from cannon here with the daimyos, as I really couldn't accept the leader of a nation that had survived a lot of war to be a complete idiot as he was shown in the manga. So I substituted him for my own.

You've likely noticed the departure from a lot of cannon events, that is likely to continue along a few quite a few was, the Juubi details included. As far as I'm concerned, _that_ didn't happen, and the bijuu are ancient demons. Nuff said.

After careful consideration, I have finally reached a decision in which direction to take this story from this point onward, and that includes both Naruto's development as a ninja and as a character, along with those around him.

Well, that's enough for now, enjoy the chapter, and review it. You know we writers live of your reviews :D

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_Chapter 21 : Family Bonds and International Politics_

Naruto kept a calm facade as he inwardly cackled with glee at the sight of a classroom full of students who actually thought they had a chance of tricking, or worse yet, pranking him! Still, there was a certain group that he had no doubt had the potential to do so... in a few years. A sly smirk crossed his face when he noticed the wide grin Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were sporting at the sight of their 'Boss' being their teacher.

Oh he was going to have so much _fun _driving them into the ground on this. For their own good of course. He even had Iruka's full support on teaching the little rascals a few lessons.

By now he was getting annoyed by the growing sound of the entire class talking, most of them about him, the rumors and other nonsense, while many others were curious what the new teacher was going to, well, teach. He began quietly tapping his foot on the ground, leaking just a tiny bit of killing intent into the room, and counting to five, giving them the time to quiet down.

Of course by the time he had reached five, not only had they not quieted down, they were in fact louder then before, something that he realized he found very, very irritating. There were a few that were completely silent. Hanabi Hyuuga, younger sister to Hinata was an image of what a Hyuuga (to their mind at least) should be, proud, eerily quiet, and arrogant... or as others would put it, with a ten foot pole stuck up their ass. She stayed quiet because it was 'unbefitting of a Hyuuga' to make noise needlessly. Konohamaru was another, bu that was only a testament to the respect he held for Naruto. There were several others, like a young boy with black hair, who he remembered was named Gekkou Izashi, cousin of the more famous Hayate, a civilian girl by the name of Maedae Kimari, who apparently had a strong drive to become a real kunoichi. Then there were Udon and Moegi, who while every bit the pranksters and kids Konohamaru was were also the children of ninja families, families that both lost over half of their members in the recent years. It was little surprise that their respective grandparents Koharu and Homura were very protective of them.

Out of a room of around thirty of them, those were the ones he knew had great potential. Naruto had remembered the pictures from the files he was given to read over. It was a joke for him to memorize a measly thirty people, and all the information concerning them he was given, already building an image of the overall skills here.... however he knew all too well that those images wee generally faulty. He himself was the runt of his class and look how far he got. If there was one thing he promised to do, it was to get these kids a good chance, and to flush out any potential they had providing them a better chance to survive in the field, or to root out those unfit before they died a needless death

"Quiet!" he shouted, lacing the voice with just enough killing intent to make the command work. The room was instantly filled with silence as every eye was turned to him.

"My name is Naruto, and I'll be your teacher in the arts of sealing as Iruka-sensei already stated. You can call me Naruto-sensei, or shortly sensei." he spoke in a perfectly flat tone. He hid a smirk as he felt half the class take a collective gulp. "As long as you don't make a mess, and try your best to learn what I have to teach you we'll have no _problems_" this time the entire class swallowed hard.

The stern face he kept vanished instantly, to be replaced by a foxy grin he was so famous for.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's get started. What an you tell me about seals?" he asked. Silence still reigned. With a small sigh, he decided to break the tension, picking a kid seemingly at random "You there,Kimari." he said, pointing at the girl. Said girl slowly got up and started, nervously speaking.

"Uhm... seals are symbols that when chakra is applied to them create various effects" she barely managed to finish the sentence, obviously worried for the trouble she was going to get in. Naruto on the other hand slightly frowned. While the definition was childish at best, it was also surprisingly accurate, if a bit off target.

"Not bad Kimari. You're almost right. But what kind of effects?" he pressed on, curious what the girl would say.

"Ehh... any?" she tried, a definite worried look on her face. With a calm chuckle, Naruto's features softened.

"That, is absolutely correct" he calmly stated, bringing about the surprised eyes of his now-captive audience. "Thank you, you can sit down Kimari." he offered, cracking his knuckles as he approached the large blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk

"Now to expand on what she just said. Most of you have seen seals in one form or another. The rather common storage scrolls and exploding tags being among them. However, you must understand that seals are truly capable of _anything_. I will teach you the basics, give a solid foundation to build on for those that wish to learn more and leave those who don't with solid knowledge that will likely save your life one day." he explained in an passionate voice, easily keeping the attention of the entire class on himself. He didn't really have to turn around, as his field of Radiance gave him a perfect image of the entire room.

"Now let's start, shall we? I am going to write down the basic seals you will need. These are the majority of the seals that are used to form arrays, and apart from a number of special ones, all you will ever need" Naruto explained as he began drawing the shapes of the basic seals.

He started with the simple chakra storage seal, the 'battery' that ran so many arrays, continuing with the five chakra converters, of each respective element of course. The third thing to be written was the storage seal, likely the most complex thing they would be seeing. In reality, that was the simplest of the Life seals as it actually dealt with the time/space continuum, but the sacrifice required to create and activate it was just a few drops of blood, so it was safe.

He stopped for a moment, running out of room on the board, and thinking over what more he should write down when he noticed that the class was simply starring at him.

"Well? What are you waiting for? A written invitation? Start writing these down NOW!" he ordered, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he walked over to the nearby desk and unsealed his calligraphy set and a small, empty scroll, quickly writing down an array on it, one that would help demonstrate just what he was talking about, and serve as a reward for those who try their hardest later on

"Now, that you're finished I'll explain just what these seals do. The first" he pointed to the one on the left "Is a Chakra Storage seal, a rather simple, but very important part of almost any array. It serves to store chakra, and release it on demand. How, we'll come to that soon. The next five are the Chakra Converters. Their purpose is to take normal chakra and turn it into one of the five elemental natures, being Wind, Water, Fire, Lightning and Earth. Now, before we go any further let's demonstrate just what a combination of these can do. Any volunteers?" he asked.

Only Konohamaru and his friends raised their hands while the others were curious... and slightly worried.

"Fine. Konohamaru, get over here." he beckoned with his hand, deciding on a far more... practical approach than the scroll he originally intended. He looked at the board and noticed that he had drawn the Chakra Converter for Wind right next to the Chakra Storage Seal. Pulling a short line between the two to connect them, he motioned for Konohamaru to activate the array with a mischievous smile on his face, well hidden from the rest of the class, silently mouthing 'Give 'em hell'

Konohamaru Sarutobi was having a great day so far. First, his uncle Asuma decided it was about time he taught the kid a few simpler moves with his (not that surprising) wind affinity, and the Flying Swallow that Asuma often used proved to be an... interesting addition to his skill with a staff. Then he got to the academy, to learn they were getting a new course on Seals, and a new teacher to boot... he was positively ecstatic when he found out that said teacher turned out to be his 'Boss' and idol, Naruto.

And to top it all off, he had just been invited to join in what was obviously a good prank if the grin an the glint in Naruto's eyes was any indication. So he did as he was told, he placed his hand on the large seal and sent as much of his chakra as he could. The results were rather entertaining, as a strong burst of wind blew from the blackboard to the rest of the room. While not strong enough to wreak the intended havoc, it was strong enough to display just what Naruto tried to explain... and make sure that a bunch of papers flew around, while messing up everyone's hair. The dumbfounded looks on their faces were priceless.

"This kids, is a simple pair of connected seals activated by a boy who has the chakra capacity of your above-average genin. And that's without any additional controls. Now imagine what a full seal array is capable of." he stopped for effect, letting the ideas form in their heads.

"And Before I go on, I'll demonstrate the others. For instance, this Fire converter here" he placed his finger on the aforementioned seal "Turns chakra into Fire chakra, which if not immediately consumed by something..." he stopped, sending a pulse of chakra into the seal, letting out a stream of flame a meter long "ignites. Same thing happens to the rest of them, with water drawing moisture from the air and lightning creating enough static through chakra, except for the earth one. Earth chakra can only affect earth, it cannot draw it from somewhere else"

"Now, I'm going to write down the rest of the basic seals we'll be using before I start the lecture part." a groan broke in the room, and Naruto could do nothing but laugh... he would (and probably had) done the same. "Don't worry, it will be short, but very important" he tried to quell their fears. Nobody liked meaningless lectures.

Naruto continued to write the second set of seals they would need, the basic Blood seal, a delaying seal, standard trigger seal used for basic traps and exploding tags, the sharpening seal used for weapons, a minor barrier seal. He was surprised but annoyed that the kids didn't ask any questions... he had a vague feeling that they were afraid of him, and that he had messed up. If the kids were afraid of him, then they wouldn't learn as well as they could, and potential talents in the area would be wasted, a luxury he, nor Konoha for that mater, didn't have. Thankfully he had an idea how to handle it. A short look at the clock displayed it was half past ten, and that he still had an hour and a half to work with.

"Alright, now for the lecture" queue collective groan, and a light chuckle.

"First of all, you should know that there are three categories of seals, each further divided by complexity." he explained raising three fingers in the air" The first category are Chakra seals, which are the most basic ones that deal with manipulation, storage and transformation of chakra in one form or another. The second group are Barrier seals, which deal with the creation of various barriers and fields out of chakra, or various materials by applying chakra to them." he stopped, taking down two of his fingers" Before I explain the third group, you should know that all seals come with a price. Most of the time, their effects merely demand chakra... however, the third category, the Life seals, are fueled by our very life. To create, maintain or activate them, one has to make a sacrifice of some amount of life force or blood. The basic seals I will teach here from that group require a sacrifice of but a few drops of your blood to work. The Storage seal and Blood seal are two of the weakest, but most commonly used Life seals, and will be among those you learn during the following month. I will also be teaching you the other main skills of sealing, and that are Identification and Breaking, referring to the ability to identify the purpose of an array, and do completely break it, neutralizing it's effects. Any questions?" he asked, glad that he had seen a growing interest in the students as a number of them raised their hands. A content smile spread on his face and he answered as they took turns to ask him about everything that came to mind concerning both seals, and often enough himself.  
"Won't we need our textbooks sensei?" one of the kids asked, Izashi if he remembered correctly. Naruto smiled in response before answering his question  
"If you work hard, by the end of this year and your gennin exams, not only will you not need it, but you will be able to write a better version yourselves" he answered, bringing a number of awed looks from the kids.

By the time noon came, Naruto found that for the first time in his life he felt like he fitted in. The feeling was something he hadn't desired in some time, as all related needs were easily fulfilled by his growing circle of family and friends. The students, none of them older than ten accepted him without reservations as the news of his status, both familial and as a jinchuriki was made public a scant few days after his departure to Whirlpool, and had surprisingly little effect on them.. apart from rampart curiosity. To think that they even asked him about the Reaper Death Seal on his navel and that he actually showed them and explained almost all he knew... to the growing interest of boys and the blushing of more than a few girls, much to his entertainment.

But he couldn't say that he wasn't happy, or that he hadn't enjoyed the day. The students proved more than quick on the uptake, as by the end of the three hours he had devoted to them, more than a half could easily repeat and write the basic set of seals he had taught them. More than two-thirds understood how to connect the seals together, and the remaining third had more issues with drawing the seals correctly than connecting them. Several even showed potential to become experts in time, by the same crazy creativity he himself was graced with. A final thought possessed him to leave them a bit of creative homework: they were think up a working array with the seals they were given. He had no doubt he'd find some downright crazy and dangerous things there, but that was the point. To force them to think and adapt. '_Analyze, adapt, apply_' were the first words he had read from a basic sealing manual over two years ago, a creed he accepted and lived by, the book having been given to him by Sarutobi in his last year of the academy. Though it took him a long time to figure it out so that he could apply it, once that part was over, _any_ seal that fell into his hands was quickly broken down to it's basic components, studied, upgraded if possible and turned against all those he called enemy. He would show them how to do the same. And the reward he offered, a fully completed Barrier Array that was strong enough to stop a C-rank jutsu, was tempting to them.

For better or worse, he was looking forward to the next class he would be holding in three days time.

With a final smile he let everyone leave the room, idly going through the paperwork he was supposed to fill out. It took him only five minutes to understand just why any person in a position of respectable power groaned at the very thought of paperwork and thanked the heavens above that he knew how to perform the Shadow Clone jutsu. Still, he decided that for the first time, he would carefully check what was required of him.

One of the more important papers was the attendance list, consisting of the names of every student in the group, along with daily grading of every student, and a bunch of other statistics, though he had to admit he was vaguely entertained by the paper marked off 'Collateral damage'. For some reason, the idea that teaching in a Shinobi academy actually could bring down the school wasn't that hard to swallow.

Anko smiled sweetly at the sight of her beloved teaching. She had the day of, but decided to take a check on Naruto's antics, and was very much entertained and gladdened to see him teaching, the vibrant smile on his face as he explained the intricacies of his art to the students. He was rarely so happy, she sadly noted.

Her life wasn't much better, she also noted, though there were happy moments, moments that these days more often than not included the blond young man who acted far beyond his years. She chuckled at the thought that he could be so... silly and childish at times, and yet, all serious when it mattered most. She would never say it, nor admit it, even to herself, but she envied him for it.

If anyone had taken the chance to see her then, they would have failed to find the usual, sarcastic, dangerous Anko, and would have seen a loving young woman wistfully spying on the object of her affections. Funnily enough, Ibiki Morino decided today of all days to pay a visit to his old friend in the Academy, instantly noticing Anko on his way. With a small, barely visible smirk, he put the information away for later teasing... he still owed her for the coffee incident. Sadly enough, he didn't have the time to mess with her today... the 'honored guests', alias the daimyos, would be here in a matter of hours, along with their sizable entourages.

Shaking his head from the though, he continued walking. He had better things to do than be annoyed by politics.

_(12:05 Hokage Tower, Office of the Hokage)_

"Still unsure it was a good idea?" Sarutobi turned to his soon-to-be successor with a satisfied smirk after reading the report.

Tsunade choose not to grace him with an answer as the older man victoriously chuckled, winning yet another bet against Tsunade. Legendary sucker indeed.

"When do the delegations arrive?" she asked, trying her best to shift the focus of the conversation.

"In about two hours at most. Scouts and guards have reported that the Fire daimyo is an hour away to the northeast, and that the Wind daimyo is at about the same distance to the west. I've also sent orders to help prepare the Subaku siblings for the visit. I would suggest you get ready as well. As far as I remember, you never had to deal with such negotiations, and it will do you some good"

"Hai sensei" Tsunade answered in a sarcastic tone, even further annoyed by the job. '_Why did I accept this again?_' she wondered. Still at least the worst of the first part of her preparation for taking over the position of the Hokage was over. By now, she had a perfect memory of every law, regulation and treaty that affected Konoha. It was an annoying part of it all, but she persevered. She did agree to the damned job after all, and all thanks to that crazy brat Naruto.

_(13:00, Namikaze estate )_

And speaking of the devil, he was currently going back home, his mind set on spending time with his family. A strange smile was decorating his face during his entire walk, while he answered the friendly greetings of quite a few people. It still surprised him how the opinions had changed once the full announcement was made. Then again...

He left all such thoughts slide as he reached the forested pathway that led to his home, making one last check on the food he had bought for his family. He still couldn't get used to it. He had a family, Kushina, Keisei and Anko. His family, and he'd go against the Shinigami himself to protect them. With a mild chuckle, he walked on, enjoying the sounds of the forest around him until he reached the gates, where those sounds were replaced by others, those of his sister and lover childishly arguing over the last piece of food..

Holding in his laughter, he opened the gates, walking towards the door. He didn't really need to look to know what was going on as he heard his mother's voice

"Ladies! Naruto-kun is home" she chirped, calming the two younger women down near instantly. He knew he had noticed Anko a while back, as she was 'spying' on him while he was teaching, so he was slightly surprised that she was here already, but then again, he had spent a while shopping.

"Hey everyone. I brought some food" he offered in a happy tone, placing down the still-slightly-smoking paper bag in his left hand on the table

"Naruto-kun, you didn't?" Anko asked in a loving voice with a wide smile on her face, and a small trail of drool on the corner of her lips. Naruto chuckled before kissing her and removing the steaming hot platter of dango from the bag. He knew how much she liked the stuff, as much as he generally liked ramen, though he had cut down on it greatly... he made a mental note to visit the Ichiraku's one of these days, he hadn't seen Ayame and Teuchi in a while. For the time being, he pleased himself with the sight of his beloved and his sister stuffing their faces full of dango, while he and his mother chuckled from the side.

"I brought you something as well mom" he quietly added, pulling out another steaming plate. Kushina's eyes widened as she recognized the dish

"How did you...?" she muttered as he sat her to the table with a dish of roast duck in honey in front of her, her favorite food of many years

"Dad was trying to figure out how to make the food, and I found the recipe in the study" he explained, letting out a smile.

"Minato never was good at cooking..." she longingly stated "but blowing up the kitchen? That he was an expert on" she jokingly added before cutting off a piece of meat, and eating it. "Naruto, don't tell me that after fifteen years the Black Scale still has the same chef?" she asked, licking her lips in the progress.

"Mhm" Naruto confirmed "The old scoundrel sends his greetings"

"Then I'll have to pay a visit one of these days" Kushina responded, returning to her food, while Naruto did the same, pulling out a third plate for himself.

The meal continued in general silence... if the four of them eating could be called that. Anko and Naruto actually tried to behave civilly, but when they realized that both Keisei and Kushina had even less manners, both grinned and dived in wildly.

"Just so you know Naruto, Sarutobi, Jiraya and Tsunade will be coming for dinner tonight" Kushina stated, making a short break in her eating

"Oh?" he commented, slowing down his own meal for a very short time "That's nice.. who's gonna be cooking? You or me?" he asked, finally putting an end to his meal

"I'll do it. I have... something of a need to do it" she argued, while Naruto merely nodded. He felt no need or reason to deny her. If it made her happy, all the better.

Still, something worried Naruto.... a feeling of dangerous times ahead, a feeling brought forth not only by his own experiences recently, but from some of the events, rumors and other things he overheard. He had little doubt of the course ahead... but he was also aware that the choice he had made would leave him with little free time for his family.

Kushina wasn't the only one who noticed the shift in his mood. Keisei had visibly slowed down her eating, and so did Anko, though he new little sister kept her eyes on her older brother, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"It's no use" she heard Anko whisper conspiratorially "When he gets like that, not even Ibiki would be able to figure out what he was thinking about."

"Is he really that hard to read?" Keisei continued

"Uhm..." she confirmed with a nod.

"He seems to have taken that after his grandfather, from my side of the family... Father never was easy to figure out." Kushina noted, remembering Isaro Uzumaki, her father and former king of Whirlpool

After lunch, all four of them moved to the living room, sitting themselves down on the couches, and talked, Naruto and Anko of their lives in Konoha, Kushina of her past, and Minato, while Keisei talked much of her experiences with Orochimaru. At some point Naruto summoned Gamakichi and introduced him to Keisei, who hadn't yet seen the small toad, though Kushina had already met him once before.

_(14:00, Konoha)_

Officially, ninja villages were rarely used as places of negotiation for a very simple reason... one does not walk into the lion's den without expecting to get eaten. However, Konoha had a very strong reputation as a peacekeeper, and the visit of a foreign daimyo along with their own ensured that there would be no interference from any loyal forces, and with the dissolution of all ROOT forces, the only other potential internal threat was neutralized.

The guards were on high alert regardless, especially because this presented a rather alluring opportunity for outsiders to attack and lay the blame on Konoha... the political and economical damage from such an event would be staggering... not to mention that it would start a war.

There were two large groups entering the Village Hidden in the Leaves right now, the daimyos of Wind and Fire, each escorted by a hundred of their bodyguards, along with emissaries from the temples of Wind and Fire overseeing the procession.

The political system of the five great countries was simple, divided between three actual powers. First came the Daimyo, and his samurai legions, which formed the bulk of the countries regular military and peacekeeping forces. The second faction was the Temple. A semi-religious institution that comprised of a large number of monks and priests, the first group taking care of protecting the various temples and burial grounds along with religious monuments and pilgrims, while the second took care of various religious needs. The third faction were the shinobi. Most of the time, the three worked independently of each other, however, in times of war, all three groups worked together without fail, under the supreme command of the daimyo. During negotiations between nations, or in this case, for reparations for the invasion of the sovereign territory the other two groups would be present to ensure the optimal conditions for their side.

The procession from the west belonged to the nation of Wind, dressed in the traditional sky-blue robes and armor, along with a palanquin that carried the daimyo and a suitable army to protect him. The hundred warriors represented the finest that could be found within their land, all dressed in excellent scale armor, and well armed with a combination of spears and swords.

The one from the east came from the Fire country's capitol, the traditional fiery crimson uniforms of the samurai easily visible in the snow, while the monks, dressed in lighter robes walked alongside the army, while the Daimyo himself rode a horse to Konoha. Unlike his Wind counterpart, he was more of a warrior, and instead of silken robes, wore a heavy set suit of armor, with a large, double-bladed axe strapped to his back, one he had frequently used during the many battle he had fought.

Mizako Nobunaze, tall as your average bear, and just about as tough (rumor had it that he'd wrestled quite a few in his youth). Broad shoulders covered by armor plates, large arms and hands that moved at an unnatural speed in combat. Piercing hazel eyes surrounded by already grayed shoulder length hair and a short beard. He was a man in his early eighties, a contemporary of the Third Hokage, but still just as strong as he was in his youth. This too was the subject of many stories and rumors, but regardless of them all, he remained the ruler of fire country for over fifty years, and stood unopposed for the throne as those who did oppose soon found themselves challenged to an honorable duel. His numerous children and grandchildren loved him, along with the rest of the Fire Nation as the man stood as a pillar of stability through the numerous wars that tore through the region. The fact that the man did what was best for the country only helped his popularity.

The only thing that dwarfed the man in the entire procession was perhaps his horse, a large black charger that had seen as many battles as his master. His name was Wrath, simple, but very intimidating to his opponents no less than his bulging muscles or hooves, nor the bloodthirsty stare in his eyes. It was a beast of war, meant to bring fear to the hearts of his enemies as he charged over them.

The group was composed of his finest soldiers, as he didn't believe in having bodyguards. His would-be assassins didn't either, mostly since all but the stupidest outright refused assassination jobs on him. The men were handpicked for the division he himself lead in combat, the greatly feared Honored Legion of Fire. The armor they wore was the same as his, except slightly heavier.

Mizako himself was very interested in the negotiations. Konoha had soundly beaten an enemy with little to no losses along with capturing several political prisoners along the way. And while that spoke well of Fire country as a whole, and him as a leader, it also spoke of Konoha and it's by now former leader, Sarutobi, along with their ninja. He wasn't an uninformed fool, as not only the ninja had access to wide amounts of information. Jiraya of the Sannin often shared his bits of sensitive information for some he had gathered from his own. Such as the detail that the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox was in fact the son of that annoying brat Minato Namikaze. Even after twenty years he still couldn't figure out how the man won that game of poker, swiping the land where he had intended to build a summer home for his own estate. Gambling arguments aside, he respected Minato for two reasons. One was because he as loyal to a fault, and had the balls to send anyone who gave him trouble over it (Mizako Nobunaze himself included) to hell, and because he was a perfect shinobi leader, a genius born once in several generations., and according to his reports, the son wasn't far behind, already labeled a wunderkind when it came to seals and already earning a rather intimidating name in the Bingo books, along with going to great lengths for a genin to help out in the counterattack to the invasion of Konoha, not to mention his later battle in Whirlpool. He just might have to pay the brat a visit and meet him for himself.

"Nobunaze-sama" his adjutant, a relatively (compared to him) young man of forty-three by the name of Togal called him, stirring him from his thoughts

"Yes?" he shortly responded, voice in it's usual calm state.

"We are approaching Konoha sir" Togal pointed at the gates

"Good" the old daimyo responded, his hands clutching the reigns of his horse, the beast of war letting out a seemingly amused nigh. He learned over the years that his horse understood him far better than his wife, likely because they shared more battles and drinks together.

"I have no doubt they already know we're here" Mizako commented. "It should be an entertaining welcome."

"If you say so sir" Togal responded in a monotone.

And indeed, the welcome had proven to be... interesting. Unlike most of the Shinobi villages, Konoha had a sizable civilian population, to the point it ranked as a minor city, rather than a concealed village. The populace had gone outside to greet their daimyo reverently, the path cordoned off by the shinobi equivalent of a town militia. Ever since that unpleasant incident with the Uchiha, the job wasn't exactly popular, but still, they did a good job apparently.

Mizako gave a wave here and there, offering a grizzled smile to the people and to the occasional masked veteran ninja he recognized, and being saluted in turn. They never did figure out how he knew exactly who it was behind their masks, and he wasn't telling... after all, they said it themselves, you don't give away your secrets lightly.

He could hear a similar procession coming from the opposite side of the village, knowing that the Wind Daimyo, that fool Toumei Kira was coming. The man was a capable but vindictive and power-hungry, and he had triggered the invasion in the first place. Having inherited his position form his father, rather than having to earn it like he himself did, meant he had considerably less experience than he did... a situation he didn't mind in the least. He was already informed of the contents of the treaty Konoha was going to offer, and considering the trouble that was brewing, he himself approved. Old wars were long since passed, and the hostilities from the Third Shinobi War had to come to an end if both nations were to survive. It was an annoying thing, but it had to be done.

_(15:00, Hokage Tower, The Council Chambers)_

Tsunade was slightly worried. The events now were a baptism by fire if she ever saw one, but she was relatively at peace. She had Sarutobi as her adviser, and Nobunaze as her ally, along with a rather fair offer. Even with her relative inexperience it would be an easy matter.

"Greetings Lady Hokage, Lord Daimyo" Toumei offered, a calm, emotionless smile on his face. Tsunade did a mental rerun on the information she had on the man. He was a coward and a fool in many things, but when it came to politics and money, he was dangerous. He wasn't greedy that much for money as he was for power. The late Kazekage had opposed him in a number of matters, so he returned the favor, by sending a number of high paying missions over to their neighbor, Konoha. As allies, it wasn't really an issue for him to do, but it dealt a severe blow to Sunagakure's economy, and it opened a door for reptiles such as Orochimaru to extend their influence.

"Toumei-dono. A pleasure to see you" Mizako courtly retorted as the three people who were to speak took a seat at three different tables, each so placed that there was an open podium in between, dedicated to the few visitors that would be arriving

"Shall we begin? I am sure all of us have duties, and it would do no good to tarry" Mizako kindly offered.

"Indeed." Toumei sighed "Formally, I am honor-bound to defend the interests of Wind country, and by extension Suna. However, I only learned of the invasion _after_ the act. Honestly, it's one big mess and I want to clean it up as soon as possible."

Both Mizako and Tsunade were surprised at the openness with which the man spoke. Toumei wasn't known as a altruistic person, though the situation was hardly to his benefit anyway.

"I agree with that" Mizako retorted

"I believe you received a copy of the restitution offer?" Tsunade asked

"Yes, and I agree with it. However" he paused " it wasn't the main reason I came here. Our alliance has so far stood solely on paper, and I have number of reports of a group called 'Akatsuki' operating both within Wind country and abroad. I am more than willing to share the information I have in return for your own. I believe that the organization is a threat big enough to warrant a higher degree of cooperation." Toumei explained, intertwining his fingers and laying them beneath his chin.

"What do you think Hokage-dono?" Mizako asked, though he already had a good idea of the answer

Tsunade made a show of talking to Sarutobi, though both had already agreed. It was merely an added benefit that Toumei offered it, but even though they agreed, merely agreeing instantly would infer that they needed it more than he did.

"Your offer is agreeable Toumei-dono. In that case we have covered two major points of our meeting here, which leads us to the third one, the fate of the prisoners-of-war interred here, especially the children of the late Kazekage." Tsunade retorted after a few minutes of deliberation. "And then we will return to the subject of the Akatsuki"

"Acceptable. I assume you set the chamber so that the three of them would have a place to stand?" the youngest of the three, Toumei asked

"Correct." Tsunade stated, giving a short look to one of the two adjutants that stood next to her table, and the man immediately walked outside. The room remained silent for a precious few minutes as the three present groups suspiciously started each other down, waiting either for one side to make some sort of mistake or for the 'guests of honor' to arrive. Thankfully, the second came true much faster, as three figures were escorted inside under guard. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, were unbound and escorted more like guests than prisoners, and Toumei noticed the gesture, along with the fact that they were in surprisingly good condition for prisoners.

"Now then, you three understand why you are here?" Mizako asked politely, a thoroughly shark-like grin on his face

"H-hai, Daimyo-sama" Temari answered

_(19:00, Water Country, cabin aboard the 'Blue Swallow')_

Kakashi tiredly took a look at the paper in his hands for the final part of the instructions, and they were hardly pleasant. His entire team was already in position, scattered along the port city he was supposed to use as an insertion point. A high profile intelligence gathering and object extraction mission. Not something he was looking forward too, but then again, since it was a S-rank operation, there really wasn't much choice as to who was going to do it, but then again, it wasn't like he minded much, while he wasn't as much of an adrenaline junky as some others, he still liked the thrill of a hard job.

He took one last check over his equipment, making sure the tools were in place, before opening the door of his cabin and walking out to the corridor that lead to the main deck. He would need to leave just a few minutes before docking, to avoid drawing any attention. Thankfully, night had long since fallen, and the limited moonlight that shined through the cloudy sky made his job that much easier.

He idly wondered what his pupils were doing, how Sakura and Sasuke's training was going and how Naruto's mission to retrieve the next Hokage had gone. He'd have to pay a visit to Naruto's new home once he got back, as he heard he had moved to the Namikaze estate.

"No time like the present" he mumbled under his breath as he moved to the ship's right edge and prepared to jump off, as soon as he was in the clear.

(_21:00, Namikaze estate_)

Ever since Naruto moved in, the estate had regained some of it's old life. Now that Kushina and Keisei joined in, the place was truly lively once more. The flower garden that surrounded a good part of the family home had been raised from stasis, and was once more under Kushina's tender care, while her daughter joined in, happy to learn. All the dust that had gathered was cleaned up long ago, an the place once more felt like a _home_, rather than merely a building where someone resided.

And tonight, it would be livelier still, as four guests approached the house.

Kushina was keeping herself busy with cooking. While she wasn't the housewife type, she was an excellent cook, a fact that a number of people, starting with her late husband deeply appreciated. And beyond that, she very much wanted to cook for her family. She was slowly but surely getting used to the changes that occurred, and while her beloved was no more among the living, she would move on.

Anko was the one who opened the door, and noticed the additional visitor

"Hello Anko-san." Tsunade greeted her

"Tsunade-sama, Sarutobi-sama, Jiraya-sama" she greeted by reflex, nearly ignoring the last guests "Come right in, dinner will be served soon" she shortly offered, showing them in before guiding them to the dining room.

"Keisei, set up for another guest" she called the girl, as she finally realized who the other guest was, and froze up for a moment. She hadn't greeted him. At that point she could only hope that it didn't reflect badly on Naruto.

Naruto came down some ten minutes later, joining everyone in the dining room. Unlike Anko, his perfect memory didn't give him the luxury of forgetting faces he had seen somewhere... and he had seen the face of Mizako Nobunaze more than just once in the books.

'_Oh shit..._' were his only thoughts as he forced a smile on his face and walked into the room, offering a court greeting to all guests present.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And cut! Thus endeth the 21st chapter of Determination, and the first one in 2010. I kinda like the way this turned out after a long dry spill, and the following chapters will be a bit more lively as you'll get a chance to see soon enough. I've also taken a while to think about the direction in which Naruto will be progressing from this point onward, and also taken the time to decide the direction in which to take the story.

Just so you know, a new arc will begin next chapter, and it will likely be a long one, if I can write it right :P

Ah, one more thing, the story will likely have a lemon sooner or later, and very likely in the next ten chapters or so, probably soon. I intend to try writing one (try being the keyword here), but it is likely that I'll need some help on that. If there are any volunteers please contact me.

Read and review folks!


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